


To Ashes

by Nightwinging_it



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-01-02 21:57:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 24
Words: 70,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21168515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightwinging_it/pseuds/Nightwinging_it
Summary: When Wainwright Jakobs requests the help of the vault hunters to catch a thief who stole information on the Eden-6 vault, Zane and Amara go in to investigate. The last person Zane expects to find in his search is Handsome Jack. Because, you know, Handsome Jack is dead.Timothy Lawrence is hunting down Aurelia Hammerlock with the help of Gaige. Their mission to find the Baroness seems simple enough, but Tim can't bring himself to tell Gaige what they're really after, or that after all this time, he's still not safe from Handsome Jack. And if they fail their mission, no one will be safe from Handsome Jack anymore.(Sequel to "The World You've Grown")





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is the sequel to my fic "The World You've Grown", but you can feel free to try giving it a read if you haven't read the first story yet! I tried to sum up the events of it early on, as a refresher for old readers and an explanation for new ones. I hope you'll give both stories a chance!

The thing about being a mercenary is that to survive, you had to be a light sleeper.

Zane Flynt was awake but still as the footsteps approached his door. He had a hand on the gun under his pillow, more a force of habit than actual apprehension. They were as safe as they could hope to be on Sanctuary III.

The door slid open, and in the darkness, Zane kept his eye open just a crack, fingers curling around the gun.

“Zane, I know you’re up,” Moze said. “Come on, Lilith wants us on the bridge. Something happened.”

Zane released the gun and got up, stretching a little. “A good something or a bad something?”

“Is it ever a good something?” Moze said.

“Even a bad something can be a good something! We can kill a bad something,” Zane said, getting up and heading towards her.

“That’s a fair point,” Moze said. “Lilith didn’t say much. She sent Fl4k and I to get you and Amara. Could be another attack from the Calypso twins.”

“I hope so,” Zane said, already itching for a fight.

The ship was quiet, most of its occupants sleeping. There were still a few people wandering about, calling out their greetings to Zane and Moze as they passed by.

They reached the bridge, where Lilith was waiting with Fl4k and Amara. Zane felt a little disappointed at the lack of Tannis. If she wasn’t here, then this business probably wasn’t vault related.

“What’s going on?” Zane asked. Maybe there was still hope for a fight?

“I’m not sure,” Lilith said. “Wainwright Jakobs wanted to talk to us.”

Wainwright Jakobs’ hologram appeared before them. “We were broken into not long ago. My people and I tried to catch whoever it was, but they escaped, and no one saw their face. They stole some of Alistair’s belongings.”

“Could it be Auralia?” Lilith asked.

“I’m not sure,” Wainwright said.

“Not likely,” Sir Hammerlock said, appearing alongside Wainwright. “Whoever it was, I suspect, may have been looking for Aurelia, actually.”

“Why do you think that?” Amara asked.

“They stole ECHO logs I had tracking Aurelia’s movements. A bit useless, I’m afraid. I lost track of her right up until she sold me out to the Calypso twins,” Hammerlock said.

“Do you know who would be looking for Aurelia?” Lilith asked.

“I’m afraid I haven’t the slightest clue,” Hammerlock said. “However, the fiend also stole information relating to the Eden-6 vault.”

“It’s possible they could be looking to strike a deal with the harpy,” Wainwright said. “Sell her the information on the vault.”

“But you said you didn’t know where the key was?” Amara said suspiciously.

“I don’t. The information is about the location of the vault, but without the key, it’s practically useless,” Wainwright said.

“Still, we better recover that information,” Lilith said. “Do you know where the thief went? Any clues at all?”

“One of my people said they’re pretty sure it was a man,” Wainwright said. “I pressed everyone for details, and the only things I came up with were that it was likely a man, and he was wearing sneakers with little yellow stripes on them.”

“Lovely! We’ll just inspect the shoes of every man on the bloody planet,” Zane said.

“Whoever he is, he’s likely still in the area. He didn’t get everything he came for,” Hammerlock said. “Also, he stole two weapons. A pistol and a shotgun. I’m sending pictures of them to your ECHOs.”

“What do you mean he didn’t get everything he came for?” Moze pressed.

“One of my people just happened to stumble onto him snooping around. We believe he was looking for a layout of the Jakobs manor so he could search it for the key,” Wainwright said. “I’ve since secured the layout, but like Alistair said, he’s likely still in the area hoping to get another chance at it.”

“We should look into this,” Lilith said to the vault hunters. “It’s bad enough to have to face the Calypso twins. We don’t need anyone else trying to get at the vault keys. Moze and Fl4k, I want you two to monitor the Jakobs mansion incase our thief tries to go there without the layout. Amara and Zane, you two will search the area for any sign of the thief in case he is still waiting for another opportunity.”

“Yessssss!” Zane cheered. “Not on guard duty!”

Moze scowled. “Want to switch?”

“Hell no,” Zane said. “Enjoy babysitting a manor, lass.”

“I’m tempted to switch just so I don’t have to endure your driving,” Amara said.

“Loosen up! I haven’t killed us yet,” Zane said.

“You’ve rolled the car seven times,” Fl4k said.

“And no one died,” Zane said. “I’m not seein’ the problem here.”

“You exhaust me as a person,” Amara said.

“You exhaust me and I’m not even a person,” Fl4k said.

“You just exhaust me,” Moze said.

Zane scoffed at them and their lack of fun. Lilith was wrapping up the conversation with Wainwright and Hammerlock, and once they had disappeared, she turned to the four of them.

“Aurelia Hammerlock is dangerous. Anyone willing to work with her is someone to be cautious of,” Lilith said. “Gear up and head to your positions. And Zane, please don’t drive the damn car.”

“You’re all fun-suckers,” Zane said.

They dispersed and Zane returned to his room. He picked out which weapons he wanted. He preferred a Jakobs pistol himself, but if their thief was using one, it’d be smart to have a weapon with a high fire rate to throw them off balance. A high-damage weapon was useless if you couldn’t aim it.

Once Zane was satisfied with his weapon loadout, he left his room. Amara was already waiting for him at the fast travel station.

“Must be nice for your best weapons to be attached to your body,” he said.

She flexed her arms. “It is.”

The two fast traveled to Wainwright’s location on Eden-6. It was dark out on Eden-6, but Wainwright and Hammerlock were waiting for the two vault hunters as they materialized.

“Thank you for coming so fast,” Wainwright said.

“Huh, not something men usually thank me for,” Zane said, and Amara punched him lightly. Though, lightly for her was enough to make Zane’s arm go numb, and he resigned himself to silence.

“Give us a clearer picture of what happened, and we’ll go from there,” Amara said.

“This way,” Wainwright said, leading them around to a room in the back of the building. The place was a mess, ECHO logs scattered about. “Whoever he was, he snuck in through one of the windows, crept past everyone sleeping, and lock-picked his way in here. We’re still not sure how he managed that. He shouldn’t have been able to pick this lock, but it was opened, not broken. Honestly, the quick and quiet aspect of his break-in makes it hard to believe one man did it.”

“Eh, you haven’t met Zer0,” Zane said.

Amara knelt amongst the scattered logs, leafing through them. “So what exactly did he take?”

“Some logs I had concerning Aurelia before I lost track of her,” Hammerlock said. “While she and I do not keep in touch, I like to keep tabs on her, just in case.”

“And some logs I had concerning the vault and its location,” Wainwright said. “Just having the general location won’t get him in. Unless he’s a sharp boy. Still, best to know who has this information.”

“What makes you think he was targeting a layout of the manor?” Zane asked.

“He stole two logs about the manor. One was a history on it, which didn’t contain the layout. The other was a log about an add-on my father had for the manor years ago,” Wainwright said. “He wanted to know about the manor. He must know my family has the key.”

“It’s possible he’s already working for Aurelia. She might have sent him to steal the logs,” Amara said.

“Not likely. I can’t fathom why Aurelia would want the logs tracking her movements. She wasn’t making any efforts to conceal them,” Hammerlock said. “Plus, she already has access to the manor. She could send the COV to explore it, no layout needed.”

“This man wasn’t COV, we’re fairly certain of that,” Wainwright said. “He didn’t fit the type. They usually slaughter in the name of the Calypsos, but this man fled as soon as he was noticed.”

“Come here, please!” Hammerlock called out the door.

Two women entered the room. Hammerlock gestured to them.

“These two can tell you the most about our intruder. Wainwright has trouble seeing clearly, especially in the dark, and the thief was already fleeing with his back turned when I arrived,” he explained.

“I saw the bastard snooping around in there. Well, sort of,” the first woman, a young blond woman, explained. “I saw a blue and red light coming from under the door, so I went and woke Wainwright. We opened the door together and caught him stealing. There was a quick flash of that light, and he threw some logs at us and made a run for it.”

“I saw him heading for the window,” the other woman, an older brunette, said. “I moved to stop him and he shot at the floor next to me. I was so startled that I fell back. I saw his shoes when he was pulling himself through the window. Brown with yellow stripes. He also grunted when he jumped up to the window, which is why I’m sure he’s a man. His voice was too deep to be a woman’s.”

“Great, so we have a coward in striped shoes,” Zane said. “This shouldn’t take too long to find.”

“With the pistol and shotgun,” Wainwright reminded. “They’re very distinct looking guns.”

“He had a holster on his leg. He might have put the Jakobs pistol there,” the brunette said.

“No one saw his face or hair or anything?” Amara said.

“He had a hood on. His face was well hidden,” the blond said. “I only noticed him there because I woke up in the middle of the night to take a piss. Otherwise, I doubt he would’ve been caught. He was a sneaky bastard.”

“Well, I’d say our odds of finding the fella are shite,” Zane said brightly. “Let’s get started, Amara.”

“We’ll aid you however we can,” Hammerlock said.

“You can aid us by staying here and keeping vigilant,” Amara said. “If he comes back, call us immediately.”

She and Zane left, winding their way down the path and keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. Zane broke the silence by vocalizing his thoughts.

“He was probably watching them for a while. He knew when and how to break in, and exactly where to go to find what he was looking for,” he said.

Amara nodded slowly. “So what we have is a calculating man who only got caught because of a woman’s full bladder.”

“Poor fella,” Zane said. “Would’ve gotten away with it if nature hadn’t called in the middle of the bloody night.”

“This is a wild skag chase, you get that, right?” Amara said.

“Me favorite kind of challenge,” Zane said. “Well, me sixth favorite challenge. But still in the top ten.”

“At least you’re enthusiastic about our chances,” she said.

“Oh, I’m not enthusiastic about our chances. Our chances suck. I’m just enthusiastic to take a break from the bloody Calypso twins and their COV minions,” Zane said. “You can only kill them for so long before needin’ a change of target.”

“Well, we might as well split up. I’ll cover the north and east sides around the area, you take south and west,” she said. “We can call if we find anything.”

“Sure thing,” Zane said. He had his clone and SNTNL, and she had her Siren powers. They’d be fine on their own. “Pay attention to areas that should have wildlife, but don’t. He might’ve cleared a space out for himself to hide.

“Good thinking. Contact me if you find anything,” Amara said, and the two parted ways and got to work searching.

Zane grew bored after wandering the area for nearly an hour, and he summoned his digi-clone for company. He chatted easily with his clone about their latest adventures, and the two searched around for any sign of the thief and his striped shoes.

Zane crossed an area with a gathering of water, and paused. He eyed it carefully, but saw no creatures about.

The area was secluded, overgrown. There were no worn out paths from human feet, just a ground trampled by creatures, despite the sudden lack of them.

Zane sent his clone away and crept along the area. It was silent, too silent for an area where Eden-6 creatures should’ve gathered. There were plenty of trees littering the area, and Zane assumed jabbers had once populated it.

Could’ve been cleared out by COV. But they were usually loud, obviously present. This area gave no signs that anyone had ever inhabited it, which made Zane positive someone was here.

It was still dark out, but his eyepatch gave him the advantage of night-vision. He stayed to the edge of the area, not wanting to slosh around in the water and give away his presence or position.

There were several particularly overgrown areas, vines clinging to the large, rocky walls behind them. Zane cautiously pressed his hand to them as he passed, the first two only causing him to touch rocks.

But when he pressed his hand into the third, it fell through to an opening.

He carefully nudged the vines outside, peering in. A small tunnel. A perfect little hiding spot, not too far from Wainwright’s.

Zane looked it over carefully and, positive no one was inside, entered. It was pitch black beyond, his night-vision the only reason he could maneuver about in the small space. There was a sleeping bag and some food and water, but nothing else. No ECHO logs or weapons.

Zane crouched down, running his hand over the sleeping bag. Cold. No one had been lying in it recently.

He thought over his options. He could call Amara for backup, and they could stake the place out. See who was staying here, determine if it was who they were looking for. They could capture him and bring him back to Wainwright’s for questioning.

It was only years of training that allowed him to hear the slightest rustle of the vines behind him. There’d been no wind when he was outside.

Zane waited a moment, listening hard, and when he heard the rush of air as something descended towards his head, he threw himself out of the way. Something hit the ground where he’d been just a moment before.

He caught himself, spun to face his attacker, and aimed his weapon, ready for the coming fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for giving this a read! I really loved writing "The World You've Grown", and wanted to keep writing in that idea. Updates will be slower for this story because I only have about 30 pages written for it so far, but I'll try to update once a week. Please let me know what you think of it ^-^ And feel free to join my Borderlands discord here and come chat! https://discord.gg/sv3rHY7


	2. Chapter 2

He could barely make out his attacker’s face. The man wore a hood- just like the thief. Zane looked down at his shoes.

“Nice shoes,” he said, nodding to the yellow stripes on them.

Whoever it was dropped the thick stick they’d swung at him and unholstered a Jakobs pistol, aiming it at Zane.

Zane fired his pistol at the man, watching his shields absorb the shots, but stumbling back from the force of them. Zane slashed the man with a melee attack, catching his arm and sending him staggering back farther, tearing through the fabric of the jacket he wore.

Zane shoved by him and exited the cave, not wanting to be cornered. The man backed away from the cave, firing at Zane.

That was one hell of a pistol.No wonder he stole it. Zane realized how dangerously low his shield was, and threw out his barrier for extra protection.

Whoever this guy was, he was a good shot. He aimed at Zane’s chest for quick shots, but Zane saw him trying to line up a careful head-shot. Probably good with a sniper rifle.

The man was wearing a backpack, and Zane fired off several shots at it. Like he expected, the man turned away to shield his bag. So he was carrying the audio logs he’d stolen.

Zane switched to his SMG as his barrier began to flicker. He took a deep breath, and enacted plan “spray and pray”.

The man was thrown off balance by the shots, unable to get a clean shot at Zane with his pistol. Four shots in his gun, way too many in Zane’s. Zane’s SMG might not be particularly powerful, but it also had the advantage of shock.

Zane could see the man’s panic as his shields drained under the assault. He tried to flee to the trees for cover, but Zane pursued him relentlessly, moving side to side to throw off the thief’s aim even more.

The man’s shield shattered and he cried out as a shot caught grazed his shoulder. Zane kept his aim on him, but stopped his assault.

“Hood down, boyo,” he said. “Let’s see who we’re dealing with. You get to see this handsome mug. I think it’s only fair I get to see who I’m outsmarting here.”

“Handsome, huh?” the man muttered. “Outsmart this, grandpa.”

He flicked at his wrist, and Zane cursed as two digi-clones appeared, one red and one blue, firing at him. He reluctantly retreated back, throwing out his barrier again.

“Neat trick, fella. I’ve got one of my own,” Zane said, and summoned his clone.

There wasn’t much he could do about the thief’s clones, but at least there wasn’t much the thief could do about his clone. He sent his clone forward, advancing at the thief. The thief’s clones both moved in front of him protectively, as if they could stop Zane’s clone.

But Zane’s goal wasn’t to have his clone take down the thief. It was just to have the clone get close.

“Hey, boyo,” he called as his clone stepped up to the thief. “Outsmart this.”

He switched places with his clone, and slammed his SMG against the man’s head.

“No!” he heard a voice cry, though it hadn’t come from the man dropping to his knees before him. Had the digi-clones just spoken…?

They were firing on him relentlessly now, and he could feel his shield depleting. He switched places with his clone again for the protection of his barrier.

Zane didn’t know how long the thief’s digi-clones would last for. But surely they couldn’t stick around too long with how furiously they were firing at him now. Bright bursts of laser slammed his barrier as one of them moved closer.

The thief was clutching at his head, trying to stumble to his feet as blood poured between his fingers. He staggered and dropped back to his knees. He tried to stand again, this time slower, and managed to get to his feet. He began to retreat back towards the trees.

“Don’t let him get away!” Zane called to his clone, and released his SNTNL. The drone shot forward, firing at the thief. It forced one of the digi-clones to stop firing at Zane so it could try to shoot down the SNTNL.

Zane made sure his gadgets only fired on the thief enough to keep his shields from regenerating. With that wound on his head, he wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight once his clones were gone.

“Oh, fuck!” the red clone, the one that had been firing at Zane, cried. “Fuck, not now, not n-”

Before Zane could process the panic on the clone’s face, it and the blue one flickered out of existence. Zane recalled his SNTNL and barrier, and approached the thief, who was on the ground again, trying to aim his pistol at Zane’s clone.

Zane stood over him, switching back to his own pistol and aiming it at the thief. “Give up, lad. It’s over. Let’s do this the easy way now, eh?”

“Fine,” the thief said, and something about his voice was familiar. Zane couldn’t quite place it.

“Up. Nice and slow,” Zane ordered him.

He tried to stand and fell back down, pressing his hand to his bloodied head again. “I can’t. Shit, gramps, I think you gave me a concussion.”

“Aw, it’s just a little concussion,” Zane said, stepping forward to pull the thief up.

As soon as he stepped down, his eyes widened and fumbled for his digi-clone device to swap places with the clone.

He was pressing the button when the explosion went off. Just as the blast started to strike him, he swapped places with his clone, but the force of it still threw him off his feet. The thief was thrown back by the explosion too, but as soon as he landed, he started trying to crawl away.

Clever little bastard had stuck a contact grenade in the ground.

Zane got up, wincing at the pain in his shoulder from how he’d landed. He rolled his shoulders, gripped his gun, and approached the thief cautiously.

He grabbed the back of the thief’s jacket and yanked him to his feet. The thief let out a hiss of pain, and Zane realized the blast had gone off before his shield had regenerated. It had torn part of his clothing and burned some of his skin.

“Backfired, huh?” Zane said. “Game’s over. You sure keep a guy on his toes.”

“Guess so,” the thief said, and Zane barely managed to duck out of the way of his fist.

The thief yanked a knife from his pocket and sliced the material of his jacket, sending Zane stumbling off balance as he lost hold of his target. He dropped the material of the jacket to the ground and aimed his gun.

“Don’t make this hard on yourself,” he warned.

Armed with a knife and a likely concussion, the thief crouched and readied himself. Tough bastard.

He knew the thief would try to buy time for his clones to recharge. And Zane knew he couldn’t keep fending off two digi-clones. He’d only drained the battery by threatening the thief, but if the digi-clones realized Zane was trying to take him alive, they would conserve their energy rather than fire as intensely as they just had.

“Who are you?” the thief demanded.

“Says the man with his bloody face covered!” Zane said. “I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours, how’s that for compromise?”

How long would it take for the clones to recharge?

He’d swiped at his wrist to summon them. His sleeve covered his wrist, but Zane was willing to bet the digi-clone device was a watch or bracelet.

“Alright, boyo, my name is-” Zane started, and fired three shots at the thief’s wrist.

The thief cried out as two of the shots hit him, the third missing because of the way he jerked his arm. Blood splattered against the ground at his feet, and he clutched his injured arm to his chest.

“Oh, you’ll regret that one, gramps,” he snarled, and lunged forward with his knife.

Unshielded, and still willing to jump at the man armed with guns? Zane wondered if he’d hit this guy in the head too hard.

But he realized too late that the thief wasn’t lunging to hit Zane necessarily. Instead, he drove the knife towards Zane’s shield, hoping to permanently break it and leave Zane just as vulnerable.

“You’re a riot, aren’t ya?” Zane cried, bringing his knee up and catching the thief in the chin. He jammed his elbow into the thief’s neck, sending him falling over sideways.

The thief immediately rolled away from Zane, staggering as he got to his feet and dropped his knife in favor of his pistol. He fired on Zane again, gritting his teeth at the pain in his arm from the recoil.

Well, Zane certainly couldn’t deny the fact that the guy had a lot of fight in him. But if they kept this up, they’d draw attention to the area, and Zane didn’t want to risk COV finding them.

He also didn’t know if this guy had a partner. It didn’t seem that way from the cave he’d found, but it was better to take him down and call Amara in for backup to finish searching the area.

“Play time’s over, lad. Sorry,” Zane said, raising his gun.

“Damn right it is,” he said, and shot at Zane’s legs.

Zane was staggered from the blows, his shields protecting him from damage. The thief tossed a grenade at Zane and was smart enough to back away this time.

Zane called on his barrier just in time to protect himself from the explosion, but a second grenade had bounced behind him, and he barely managed to turn in time. This explosion sent him flying to the ground, scrambling to get up as the thief fired at him.

Before Zane could get up, he felt a foot stomp down on his back, sending him to the ground again. The thief kept firing, four shots, reload, four shots, reload. The high damage was going to break Zane’s shield with just a few more shots.

“This is going to hurt when you wake up,” Zane said with a sigh.

He flipped himself over suddenly, catching he thief off guard with his strength. He grabbed the thief’s leg and yanked it, sending him crashing to the ground on his back and losing his grip on the pistol. He seemed dazed, but his fingers still scratched at the ground in search of his pistol.

The thief tried to lunge at Zane again despite how disoriented he appeared to be. Zane, done wasting time, whacked him in the face with his gun again. The thief groaned and still tried to get up.

“Alrighty, now I’m just feelin’ bad,” Zane said, and cracked him in the temple.

The thief went still, his struggle dying down immediately. His head lolled to the side, and Zane waited for a minute or two before kneeling over the man.

He pulled the hood back and stared at the thief’s face. A hideous scar sliced through his face, an eerily familiar symbol distorting a face Zane recognized.

Of course he recognized the face. He’d seen pictures of Handsome Jack’s unmasked corpse while doing a job for Hyperion a few years back.

The man unconscious before him was Handsome Jack.

Except that, well, Zane had seen the pictures of Handsome Jack’s corpse.

Zane slowly lifted his ECHO into his hands. “Amara?”

“Did you find something?” she asked.

“Oh, you could say that,” Zane said.

“Well, what did you find?” Amara asked impatiently.

“That’s, uh, that’s a bit complicated. I’m sending you my location,” he said.

He clipped the ECHO back on his waist and carefully searched “Jack’s” body. There was no cloaking device on him. That was his actual face.

Zane studied it carefully, recalling the pictures he’d seen. He carefully lifted the thief’s eyelid, looking at the green eye beneath. It was real, whereas Handsome Jack had been missing his. And Handsome Jack’s scar had been an unnatural blue, whereas this scar was just the result of branded flesh.

“A body double,” Zane muttered to himself. Rare to find a surgically altered one. They were too expensive. But Handsome Jack had been incredibly wealthy, so Zane supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised. A voice modulator would explain the familiar voice; it was Jack’s.

Zane hauled the body to the nearest tree and carefully bound him to it. He pushed up the sleeve of the double’s jacket, revealing a badly injured arm and a bloodied digistruct watch. Zane unclasped it from the double and pocketed it, taking the double’s weapons and weapon belt. He took the backpack and opened it.

There were only a few logs inside, but not all the ones Wainwright had said the thief stole. The shotgun was also missing.

“Zane?”

Zane turned to face Amara. She looked from him to the double, whose head had fallen forward, chin resting on his chest.

“You found him? Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she said, realizing the bloodied condition of the thief.

“Well, he tried to sneak up on me, and I didn’t think he’d stop to let me call you in for backup. Even if I said please,” Zane said.

“So, what’s going on? Who is he?” she asked.

“Well, uh, about that,” Zane said. He reached over, grabbing a handful of the double’s hair and lifting his head for Amara to see his face.

Amara just stared at him in surprise. “That’s…” She shook her head. “Handsome Jack has been dead for years.”

“But his body double hasn’t been,” Zane said, dropping the double’s head so his chin bounced against his chest. “He’s surgically altered. No cloaking device on him. He’s also a feisty thing. Didn’t go down easily.”

“Why would Handsome Jack’s body double be trying to track down Aurelia Hammerlock?” Amara said.

“No clue! Figured we can take him to Sanctuary for questioning,” Zane said. “Ellie’s got a spot to hold prisoners. We can stick him there and wake him up. Get us some answers.”

Amara opened her mouth to respond to him, but ended up letting out a cry of surprise instead. The sudden gunshot caught Zane off-guard too, and the force of it made Amara’s shield flash as she stumbled forward. Zane’s eyes darted to their newest attacker, the barrel of their gun now pointed directly at his face.

Well, at least he’d found the missing shotgun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try and do weekly updates every Wednesday! Thanks so much for the kind responses on the first chapter :D


	3. Chapter 3

The girl aiming the shotgun at him looked furious. “The hell did you do to him, you crusty old fucker?!”

Zane glanced at the beat-up doppelganger tied to the tree before looking back to the girl with the shotgun. “Well, lass, I beat the absolute shite out of him. If it helps, he put up a good fight.”

“It doesn’t help,” she snapped, and pulled the trigger.

Zane ducked, the scatter of the shot catching his shield. The girl yelped as Amara slammed her with phasecast, sending her flying and knocking the shotgun from her hands.

She hit the ground hard and rolled onto her side, pushing herself to her feet. “I’m going to kill you for what you did to him.”

“I dare you to try,” Amara said.

“Not good odds here for you,” Zane said. “You should back away now.”

The girl didn’t seem frightened by the thought of facing a Siren and a man who had just beaten her apparent partner. Zane couldn’t quite tell her age; she could’ve been in her late teens or somewhere in her 20s, but it was hard to pinpoint.

He stood up and readied his gun, aiming at her. She dashed forward, her shield absorbing his shots as she grabbed the shotgun again.

“Two on one is a little unfair, don’t you think? Let’s even the odds,” she said.

A robot digistructed beside her, launching forward at Zane. Amara stepped in front of him and punched it, firing at it while it was staggered. It recovered and swiped at her, coming dangerously close to hitting her as she backed away.

The girl had gotten close again, and two shots from the shotgun was enough to put Zane’s shield in danger. He summoned his clone.

“I liked the advantage, so I’m making it three on two. Sorry lovely,” Zane said, and both he and the clone fired on her.

She seemed a competent fighter, but Zane could see she was avoiding using explosives so she didn’t harm her partner. Several times she reached for a grenade, only to look to her unconscious partner and stick to her gun.

If she’d been able to use explosives, she might’ve been able to drive Amara and Zane apart and use her robot to distract Amara. But with the duo fighting side-by-side, Zane was able to use his clone and SNTNL to help focus on both the girl and her robot.

“Enough of this foolishness,” Amara said, and fired her whole clip into the robot. It crashed to the ground.

“Deathtrap!” the girl said angrily. “I really hate you people right now.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Amara said, and used phasecast again. This time, it slammed the girl into a tree so hard it knocked her unconscious, her body crumpling to the ground and the shotgun rolling from her limp hands.

“Well,” Zane said, looking between the two unconscious people. “That went well.”

“Let’s just get them to Sanctuary for questioning. I’ll lock the girl up, you lock the boy up,” Amara said, going over and slinging the girl over her shoulder. She grabbed her ECHO. “Lilith, we’re pretty sure we have the thieves, and it’s bizarre. I’m sending you the location where we found them. Send Moze and Fl4k to investigate while we bring the suspects to Sanctuary for questioning.”

Zane untied the doppelganger and lifted him. “Tell me you got a vehicle so we’re not hauling them back to the fast travel station?”

“I have one nearby,” Amara said, and Zane sighed in relief.

He followed Amara to where her vehicle sat waiting. They tossed the suspects into the vehicle and Zane bound their wrists and ankles while Amara drove to the nearest fast travel station.

Once they reached it, they lifted their prisoners again and fast traveled to Sanctuary. They hauled their targets down to where Ellie kept herself, and Zane tossed the doppelganger into one of the holding rooms they had for prisoners. Amara tossed the girl into another.

They shut the doors, which were sturdy and only locked from the outside. Zane secured the lock on the door just as Lilith came down to the room.

“Well, what are we dealing with here?” she asked.

“I think you’re gonna want to see this fella first,” Zane said, unlocking the door again and pulling it open. “Bit of a blast from the past for you, I’m sure.”

Lilith looked into the room and her face paled. “Jack?”

She knelt down, peering at him closer. Blood had dried on his face, and Zane realized he must’ve broken the guy’s nose when he hit him in the face with the gun. His cheek was also swollen from the blow. He was in pretty bad shape from their fight.

Lilith’s eyes widened suddenly and she reached out, gently touching his arm. “Timothy?”

“Who?” Amara said, looking at Zane in confusion. Zane shrugged, just as baffled.

“Oh no,” Lilith groaned, and shook his arm. “Timothy? Tim?” He didn’t answer, and she turned to face them. “Who fought him?”

“Uh…me?” Zane said uncertainly. “Unless that was a bad thing. Then it was definitely Amara.”

“Did he have a digistruct watch?” she asked, her voice sharp.

Zane pulled it from his pocket. “This, yea. Two clones. Red one and a blue one.”

“Oh my god,” Lilith said, and turned back to him, shaking his arm again, looking worried now. “Tim? Tim!”

“Oh, I’m in trouble,” Zane whispered.

“Who is he, Lilith?” Amara demanded.

Lilith was checking over his injuries now, her hands gentle on him. “His name is Timothy. He was Jack’s doppelganger. Shit, he needs medical attention. Now.” She looked around, gestured to an Atlas soldier. “You, bring this man to Tannis immediately. Tell her it’s Timothy.”

The soldier lifted Timothy into his arms and hurried away. Lilith stood up, hugging her arms to her chest.

“You said thieves,” she said, looking up at them. “Who the hell was he with?”

Amara unlocked her door and opened it. “This girl.”

“What the hell is going on?” Lilith said in frustration, dropping next to the girl and trying to wake her. “Gaige? Gaige, can you hear me?”

“So we know the thieves?” Zane said. “Do we, uh, do we like the thieves? What the feck is going on here, Lilith?”

Lilith ignored him in favor of the groaning girl lying beside her, hastily unbinding her wrists and ankles. “Gaige?”

The girl opened her eyes slowly, wincing. She reached for her gun, but she’d been disarmed.

“Gaige, it’s just me. It’s Lilith,” Lilith said.

Gaige looked up at Lilith and slowly recognition dawned on her face. “Lilith?”

Lilith helped her sit up, leaning her against the wall. Gaige checked her injuries, groaning as she touched her ribs.

“Shit,” she said. But then her eyes widened and she reached out, grabbing Lilith’s shoulder. “Tim was with me. Where’s Tim?”

“We just took him to medical,” Lilith assured.

Gaige looked past her, at Amara and Zane. She glared at them in pure loathing.

“They attacked Tim,” she said.

“Actually, he attacked Tim,” Amara said, pointing at Zane. “I only attacked you.”

“Oh, sure, throw me under the feckin’ bus!” Zane said.

“Bastard,” Gaige said, trying to lurch forward. Lilith caught her. “Let me go, Lilith. You saw what he did to Timothy. Was it because he looks like Jack?”

“Oi, don’t try to turn this into a discrimination thing,” Zane said defensively. “I didn’t even see his face til I’d knocked him out. I was trying to get him for robbing Wainwright Jakobs.”

Gaige paused. “It wasn’t because of his face?”

“Didn’t see it until after I kicked his arse,” Zane said. “Bit of a shock, that reveal.”

“Okay,” Gaige said slowly. “I’m still pissed. But slightly less pissed. But if Lilith wasn’t here and if my ribs weren’t bruised or possibly broken, I would absolutely kick the shit out of you.”

“I’ll get you a health kit, Gaige,” Lilith said. “And then we need to talk about whatever the hell is going on, and why you and Tim were robbing Wainwright Jakobs.”

“I want to see him,” Gaige said. Then she noticed the watch in Zane’s hand and her eyes narrowed. “Lilith, why does he have them?”

“He disarmed Tim. Gaige, they don’t know you or Tim. I sent them to investigate the robbery and capture whoever was responsible,” Lilith said, helping Gaige up. “Come on, let’s get you to Tannis.”

“Tannis?” Gaige said in confusion.

“Oh, right, she’s…kind of our doctor now?” Lilith said.

“Oh my god,” Gaige said. “Tannis? The Tannis who told me only products of incest like bacon?”

“Yes, that Tannis,” Lilith said. “Do you want to see Tim or not? Because that’s where he is. Also where the health kits are.”

“You had me at health kits,” Gaige said.

“You two, come with us. We have a lot to talk about,” Lilith said.

The four made their way up to Tannis. She was leaning over Tim, trying to wipe blood out of his hair.

She looked up as they entered. “Ah, Lilith! I am incredibly confused right now. Explain.”

“There’s not much I can explain right now,” Lilith said.

“She can explain that I need a health kit. Hey Tannis,” Gaige said. She grabbed a chair and pulled it up next to the bed Tim was lying on, sitting down.

“Here,” Lilith said, fetching two for Gaige and handing them to her. “That should patch you up.”

“Is this the doppelganger you captured on Pandora all those years ago?” Tannis asked as she resumed wiping the blood off him.

“It’s Timothy,” Gaige confirmed.

“Fascinating! And he hasn’t tried to surgically change himself?” Tannis said.

Gaige shook her head. “He can’t. He’s not sure if it would blow up his face. Besides, with the scar, he won’t ever have his old face back.”

“So…what’s going on?” Zane said.

“I guess I owe you guys an explanation on them,” Lilith said. “See, when we were fighting back against Handsome Jack back then, we were trying to kidnap one of his doubles so we could break into the Bunker and stop Jack from charging the vault key. We were expecting to kill a double using a pocket watch to cloak their appearance so we could steal the watch and use it ourselves. Instead, Tim was there. He was fighting with Gaige, Axton, and Maya, but saved Axton’s life and didn’t try to kill him or Gaige. Maya knocked him unconscious and they brought him to Sanctuary.”

“He has really shitty luck meeting vault hunters, huh?” Gaige said, more relaxed now that the health kits were fixing up her wounds.

“Really shitty,” Lilith agreed. “Anyways, I’d met him before, back on Elpis before Jack took over Hyperion. He…” She paused, looked at his scarred face. “He blamed me for Jack disfiguring him. Honestly, it was hard to tell the difference between him and Jack back then.”

“Back then,” Gaige emphasized.

Lilith nodded. “We held him captive, trying to get answers out of him. We…did things to him that I’m not proud of.”

“He’s severely acrophobic. He was always acrophobic, but Jack tortured him trying to ‘cure’ it, and all it did was make Tim go into a severe panic attack when faced with heights. Sanctuary was in the sky at the time, and Moxxi told us about his fear of heights, so they had Maya phaselock him over the edge of Pandora,” Gaige said, her expression dark.

“We did,” Lilith said, and she looked to Tim again. “I wish we didn’t. But we did. Jack drew our people down to Pandora after killing some of the Crimson Raiders to leave a message that he was coming for his doppelganger. We brought back what we thought were refugees from Jack’s tyranny. It turns out they were Jack’s people. They launched an attack on Sanctuary to distract us, and freed Tim.”

“He ‘escaped’ to Pandora,” Gaige said. “We knew Jack was searching for him, so we followed him. It took a bit, because the woman helping him escape damaged our fast travel station. But once it was fixed, we knew where he’d traveled to, and we searched until we found him. Then Jack showed up.”

“He launched a massive attack against Gaige, as well as Maya and Axton, who were with her. They barely escaped. Jack forcibly took Tim back to Helios,” Lilith said.

“Jack was paranoid that we’d corrupted his precious doppelganger,” Gaige said bitterly. “He tricked Tim into thinking he’d captured us and was holding us at the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve. Tim snuck away to free us, only to show up and find out Jack never had us. Jack locked him in one of the enclosures, and poisoned him.”

“He was very sick,” Tannis said. “Sweat right through the bed. It was rather disgusting.”

“Thank you for that addition, Tannis,” Lilith said.

“I had Tim’s watch,” Gaige said. “Angel gave me access to it so I could summon his digi-Jacks. With the help of them, Maya, Axton, and I went to free Tim. He was really sick, but he refused to submit to Jack, and the others showed up to help us escape. Once Tim was recovered, we got in touch with two women he knew. They helped him escape Pandora, and actually hid him on Eden-6. Once Jack was dead, Tim moved to Promethea to try and start over.”

“Wait a minute!” Zane cried. “That’s the Tames Pandora porn fella, isn’t it?!”

Gaige groaned. “Yes, that’s Tim. COV started coming after him. The Calypso twins wanted the spotlight, and wanted traces of Handsome Jack gone. Plus, most bandits still held a grudge against Jack and his people. Tim went back into hiding.”

“But now he’s here,” Lilith said.

“Yea,” Gaige mumbled. “Yea, now he’s here. That’s a longer story. I’ll tell you when he wakes up. He can probably explain it better than me.”

“Well, waking up might take a bit,” Tannis said. “I don’t want to give him too many health kits, or he’ll build a resistance to them. So I’ve given him two, and will continue to administer them on a schedule until he’s back up and about. Also, his face is hideous and I’m very tempted to throw a towel over it so I don’t have to endure the sight of it any longer.”

“Don’t do that,” Gaige said.

“Can you blame her?” Zane said.

She shot him a dirty look. “He wouldn’t look this bad if someone hadn’t bashed his fucking head in.”

Zane gave her an innocent look. “Bloody jabbers must’ve gotten him.”

“Were you guys trying to contact Aurelia Hammerlock?” Lilith asked.

“We were trying to find her,” Gaige said. She glanced at Tim. “Really, Lilith, he needs to be the one to explain what’s going on. I don’t even fully understand everything.”

“Yet you’re robbing Wainwright Jakobs with him,” Lilith said.

“I may not understand everything, but I trust Tim,” Gaige said firmly. “He needed my help, so here I am.”

“You’re putting your trust in a man with a history of being kidnapped and badly beaten,” Tannis pointed out.

“Okay, he doesn’t have the most stellar track record, but when he’s not getting the shit beat out of him he’s a competent vault hunter,” Gaige said. She held her hand out to Zane. “Give me his watch. They can access his injuries more thoroughly than Tannis.”

“I believe that was an insult,” Tannis said.

“You wanted to throw a towel over his face,” Gaige said.

“And I stand by that desire,” Tannis said.

Zane looked to Lilith, who nodded. He took the watch out and handed it to Gaige.

“They were talking during our fight,” Zane said.

“Yea, well, they’re not just regular digi-clones,” Gaige said, securing the watch on Tim’s wrist and swiping it.

The red and blue digi-clones sprang to life. In a lit area and without the distraction of a fight, Zane could get a proper look at them. They appeared to be younger versions of Handsome Jack, and the red one was clearly a badass.

They were also pointing their weapons right at him.

“Hello!” Zane greeted, waving.

“Stand down, guys,” Gaige said.

“Stand down?” the blue one said angrily. “He attacked Tim. Tried to bash his damn skull in.”

Zane glanced at Tim’s battered face. “Think I succeeded.”

“Blue,” Gaige warned. “Don’t shoot him. Look around.”

The digi-Jacks looked around and surprise came to their faces as they spotted Lilith. Anger came back to the blue one though as he looked at Tim on the bed.

“There was a huge miscommunication,” Gaige said. “That guy works for Lilith. But I still think he’s an ass.”

“A fair assumption of me,” Zane said with a nod.

The blue one reluctantly lowered his weapon, crossing his arms. “The health kits you gave him helped, but the burns he sustained in the explosion seem to have taken most of their effort. He’s still mildly concussed, his nose is broken, and he has two bruised ribs. The injury on his arm is the worst. Inject the next health kit into that arm to take care of that.”

“Tannis doesn’t want him to gain a resistance, so she’s limiting his health kits,” Gaige said.

“Probably a smart idea. Tim had to use them constantly when Jack had him,” the red one said. “Still, risk one more to take care of his arm. It’s really bad.”

“So, talking clones?” Zane said. “Huh, gotta get mine to do that.”

“They’re AIs,” Gaige explained as she straightened out Tim’s arm. It was heavily bandaged from where Zane had tried to shoot the watch. “They were originally just unstable battle clones, but Tim and Jack upgraded them to advanced AIs. Their names are Blue and Jay. I’m sure you can figure out which is which.”

Tannis stuck another health kit in Tim’s arm. Blue reached out and Zane was surprised as the clone adjusted Tim’s bandages.

“Hot damn!” he said. “How’d you do that? Did you just do that? What the feck did I just watch?”

“We can solidify our forms,” Blue said.

Understanding dawned on Zane. “He summoned you when he broke into Wainwright’s, didn’t he? You could pass through the walls and doors to help him break in.”

“He’s sharp, but I still hate him,” Gaige said.

“Speakin’ of how sharp I am, which is very sharp, by the way, where are the rest of the logs you stole?” Zane said. “Your pal Timmy there only had some of them.”

“I was hiding the rest,” Gaige said. “And then I come back to find Tim half dead and tied to a tree while a Siren and her old-ass grandpa snoop around our camp.”

“We were investigating a robbery when a mouthy girl tried to shoot me,” Amara said.

“Enough!” Lilith said. “I trust Gaige. And Gaige trusts Tim. So whatever is going on, there’s an explanation for it.”

“There is,” Gaige said with a nod. “And you would know already if your resident senior citizen there hadn’t tried to knock Tim’s brain out of his ear.”

“Is it the white hair?” Zane said to Amara. “It’s the white hair, isn’t it? I’m not that old. I do get a senior discount on Eden-2, though.”

“I’m still trying to decide if she’s even old enough to be handling a shotgun,” Amara said.

“Anyone can handle a shotgun! Grabbed me first one as a baby,” Zane said.

“Well, there’s nothing to do until Tim wakes up,” Lilith said. “Zane, Amara, stick around Sanctuary. I’ll call you back here when Tim’s awake.”

“This has been really bizarre, so I’m going for a pint at Moxxi’s,” Zane said. “You in, Amara?”

“For once, yes,” Amara said.

Zane took one last look at Gaige and Tim as he left medical. The digi-Jacks were hovering over Tim protectively, and Gaige was helping Tannis clean the blood off him.

Zane shook his head and left with Amara. This was a bizarre day, and nothing sounded better than a tall drink right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the info dump in this chapter, just a way to catch up anyone who didn't read the first book, and refresh those who did. I promise no more of that! But I hope you guys are enjoying so far :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, spoiler warning from here on out for the events of Borderlands 3. Second, sorry for the obnoxious format change? AO3 is not working for me tonight so I'll try to fix this from my laptop tomorrow

Zane regretted inviting Amara along. She refused to let him drink too much, wanting him to be sober for whenever the doppelganger woke up.

He sulked into his drink as Amara talked easily with Moxxi. They were keeping Tim and Gaige quiet, so instead Amara was telling Moxxi about some of their fights down on Eden-6.

They’d been there for a few hours, Zane taking a break to gamble a bit and talk with some of the people in the bar. Now he was on the final drink that Amara was allowing him, and trying to make it last. Sure, they could all call him an old man, but he apparently wasn’t old enough to handle his alcohol.

“Zane, Amara, come to medical,” Lilith said over their ECHOs.

“One for the road?” Zane said hopefully.

“Sorry sugar, Amara cut you off,” Moxxi said.

Zane sighed heavily and finished off the last of his drink. He got up and he and Amara left the bar, making their way to medical.

“He up?” Zane asked as they entered.

“He will be momentarily,” Blue said.

“I’ve been treating him. I must admit, I’m better with a dead body than a live one, but he’s recovering,” Tannis said.

“Comforting as always, Tannis,” Gaige said. “I can see why they made you the doctor of the place.”

Tim was shifting and moaning a little. He cracked his eyes open a bit, and pressed his hand to his head.

He started to push himself up, but Gaige put a hand on him. “Easy, Tim.”

“Gaige?” he mumbled.

“Yea, it’s me. Things got a little weird while you were out,” Gaige said.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “My head is killing me.”

“That would be the concussion,” Jay supplied helpfully. “Another health kit treatment should fix it.”

Tim closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again. He turned his head and spotted them. He immediately pushed himself up, swaying but steadying himself and readying for a fight.

“Hey,” Gaige said sternly. “Did you miss the part where I said ‘Easy, Tim’?”

“They won’t hurt you anymore. We won’t let them,” Blue assured.

“Tim, they’re with Lilith,” Gaige said, pushing him back down on the bed. “They didn’t know who we were.”

“I ordered them to hunt down the thieves Wainwright was looking for. They brought you back here, and as soon as I realized who you were, I sent you for medical attention and brought Gaige up here,” Lilith said.

“Sorry about the walloping, boyo,” Zane said. “Walloping. Don’t you just love that word? Copped it off Hammerlock. Walloping.”

“You tried to shoot my watch,” Tim said.

“And you tried to stab me with a knife, so I think we’re pretty even,” Zane said.

Tim placed his hand over his watch protectively. He looked around, still tense as if he expected an attack.

“Where are we?” he asked at last.

“We call it Sanctuary III,” Lilith said. “It’s our ship. We’ve been trying to stop the Calypso twins.”

“This may be an improper time, but don’t you have that creepy mask Jack always wore? Your face is quite hideous right now,” Tannis said.

“I ditched that mask years ago,” Tim said. “You’ll just have to deal with my face. Be grateful it doesn’t have that stupid thing on my chin.”

The digi-Jacks both cleared their throats loudly and pointed to the soul patch on their chins.

“It was the patch or the scar,” Tim said. “Somedays I’m not sure which is worse, honestly.”

“So you were Handsome Jack’s doppelganger?” Amara said, crossing her arms. “But we’re expected to trust you?”

“Handsome Jack tortured Tim to make him loyal. He carried out assassination attempts on Tim just so he could rescue him. Did you miss the part where we said Jack poisoned Tim?” Gaige said, glaring.

Tim held up a hand to her. “It’s fine, kiddo. When you look like him, you never really escape him.” He looked to Amara. “Yea, I was Jack’s doppelganger. No, I don’t expect you to trust me. And guess what, sweetheart? I don’t trust you or the walking geriatric unit there either. So, we’re all on the same page here.”

“He’s gettin’ them verbal blows in, but he’ll run out eventually,” Zane said in amusement. “Physical and verbal fight in ya. I’m fond already.”

Tim gestured to his busted face. “Clearly.”

“Okay, now that you’re up, what the hell is going on?” Lilith asked. “Why did you rob Wainwright?”

Tim looked to Gaige. She shrugged.

“I didn’t tell them anything. I said you’d be better at explaining it,” Gaige said.

“It’s not their business,” Tim said.

Gaige whacked his arm. “Don’t get that tone with me.”

“It’s our business because Wainwright called us in to find the thieves, and here they are,” Amara said.

“You can have the logs back,” Tim said.

“Not the guns, preferably. That’s a nice-ass shotgun,” Gaige said.

“Well of course we can have the logs back. You two have already listened to them, haven’t you?” Zane said. “No loss on your end.”

“Gaige,” Lilith said, her voice sharp now. “We need to know what’s going on.”

“You said you’re after the Calypsos? Well, this has nothing to do with them, and nothing to do with you,” Tim said. “So we’ll return what we took and be on our way.”

Gaige looked between Lilith and Tim, but didn’t say anything. The digi-Jacks were on guard now, in case anyone tried to approach Tim and force him to explain.

“Aurelia is working with the Calypso twins, so it is related,” Lilith said. “Why are you trying to find her?”

“Because we know each other,” Tim said. “She was on Elpis with me. She was part of our team. I just needed to ask her about something from back then. She’s not exactly easy to find.”

“You could’ve asked Wainwright for his help,” Amara said.

“With this face? People don’t exactly jump to help someone who worked with Handsome Jack,” Tim said. “I knew Hammerlock was there, and I knew he had information on where Aurelia was. So I stole the logs. The guns were just a spur of the moment thing.”

“It’s a really nice gun,” Gaige repeated.

“And the vault?” Zane said.

“I figured Aurelia was after the vault on Eden-6. I was hoping if I found it, I’d find her,” Tim said. “My vault hunting days are over.”

“That’s all?” Lilith asked.

“That’s all,” Tim confirmed. “I asked Gaige to help me track down Aurelia. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But I needed to wrap up an issue from our time on Elpis.”

“Alright,” Lilith said. “Get some rest, Tim. Tannis will keep treating you until you’re healed.”

“I’m fine. Gaige and I need to get going,” Tim said, trying to get up again.

“No,” Gaige, Blue, and Jay all said, pushing back down.

“God, you’re so damn stubborn,” Gaige said. “Honestly, don’t make me knock you out.”

“Oh, so I do it and it’s bad, but you do it and it’s fine,” Zane said.

“He’s my friend. I’m allowed to whack him in the head,” Gaige said. “You’re not, and I’ll break your hands if you ever touch him again.”

“Don’t start a fight,” Lilith said, grabbing Zane’s shoulder and pushing him towards the door. “We’ll check on you guys later.”

Zane and Amara followed Lilith back to the bridge of the ship. As soon as they were secluded, Lilith turned to face them.

“He’s lying,” she said.

“Well, no shite,” Zane said. “I just met the fella and I could’ve told you that.”

“Tim and Aurelia did work together on Elpis, but what could he possibly need to talk to her about all these years later?” Lilith said. “From what I heard, of the five other vault hunters with him on Elpis, Tim really only kept in touch with three. He worked alongside Nisha and Wilhelm when he was with Jack until they were both killed. Once we rescued him, we got him in touch with Athena. As far as I know, he never attempted contact with Aurelia after she left their team.”

“You trust this Gaige girl?” Amara said.

Lilith nodded. “I do. But, honestly, I don’t really know Tim. He’s not a fan of me. I knew he and Gaige kept in touch ever since we hid him from Handsome Jack, and that they were friends. But whatever’s going on here, Gaige said even she doesn’t fully know it. I trust Gaige, but if Tim’s keeping her in the dark, then I have to question this whole thing.”

“So…now what?” Zane said. “Lock ‘em up?”

“I don’t want to lock Gaige up,” Lilith said. “Not if we can help it. But Tim…you didn’t see him back then. I know Jack put him through hell. I know he was abused into believing Jack was all he had. I know he still picked saving Gaige over loyalty to Jack. But even after all this time, I don’t know if he’s healed from what Jack did to him. We shouldn’t trust him, just to be cautious.”

“Gaige seems pretty protective of him. It’ll be hard to detain him while keeping her free,” Amara said.

“I know. She said the COV came after him. I’m guessing something bad happened when they did, and that’s why Gaige is so protective right now,” Lilith said.

“He’s not a bad fighter. We’ll need to be careful. I only took him down because I’m familiar with how digi-clones work,” Zane said. “Those clones of his are powerful, especially if they have such advanced AI. We shouldn’t have given him his watch back.”

“As long as we don’t come off as a threat to him, the digi-Jacks should leave us alone,” Lilith said. “But you’re right. Gaige made it sound like Tim would cooperate. I should’ve waited until we actually spoke to him before giving the watch back.”

“Now the question is how do we get it back?” Amara said.

“Tannis can help us. Those clones have to recharge at some point,” Zane said. “If it’s while he’s asleep, Tannis can just slip it off him.”

“No,” Lilith said. “When we had him on Sanctuary, he always woke up violently. I don’t want him to hurt Tannis if he gets disoriented and thinks he’s under attack.”

“Well, there’s got to be a way to get it back,” Zane said.

“This could be tricky. I don’t know if Gaige is still able to summon them,” Lilith said. “And Tim is incredibly protective of that watch. He won’t just give it up to us.”

“Those suckers’ll be hard to fight against if he summons them to attack,” Zane said.

“So getting back the watch needs to be a priority. Until we have it, we need to make sure he thinks we believe his story,” Amara said. “We don’t want him to attack with them.”

“But we shouldn’t wait too long. No telling when he’ll try to flee,” Zane said. “If he was a victim of Jack, he’s probably paranoid of being held captive.”

“I’ll tell Tannis to slow down his treatment as much as she can without raising suspicion. He’ll listen to Gaige, I think, and Gaige won’t let him leave until he’s healed up enough,” Lilith said.

“Well, what do we do with him?” Amara said. “We’ll need to lock him up and make sure that Gaige can’t free him and flee.”

“We’ll keep people posted near the fast travel station to stop them if they try to leave,” Lilith said. “But we’ll keep it inconspicuous.”

“Should we tell Wainwright?” Amara asked.

“Not yet. I want to know more about what we’re dealing with,” Lilith said. “I doubt anyone else is working with them, but we can’t be sure.”

“Is there a possibility of any of your other old vault hunters being part of this?” Zane asked.

“Possibly Axton. He and Gaige were always close,” Lilith said. “And Tim saved his life twice. As for Tim’s allies, I’m not sure if he has any aside from Athena and Janey, and they’re in Hollow Point.” Lilith paused, her eyes widening. “Oh, no. I don’t think Gaige knows about Maya.”

“Yea, might want to tell her about that before she finds out on her own,” Zane said. He paused, thought it over. “We could draw her away from medical to tell her. Wait until the doppelganger is out.” The more it played out in his mind, the more confident he became of the plan. “That’s it. When the battery is recharging, drug his next health kit so it knocks him out. When he’s asleep, take Gaige out of the room to tell her about Maya. I’ll grab the watch.”

“I’m not going to use Maya’s death as a tool to trick Gaige!” Lilith said.

“Fine, then your boy Tim keeps his watch. Even if you drug him, you need Gaige out of the room to steal the watch, and she won’t go easily,” Zane said. “I know you don’t want to do it, Lilith. But it’s the easiest way to get that watch back. If he gets aggressive, those digi-Jacks can cause a lot of damage.”

Lilith hesitated before giving a reluctant nod. “I know that. Okay. But if we can do this without locking Gaige up, that’s how I want to do it. We might be able to use the watch to get the information out of Tim.” She sighed. “I don’t like this. But he’s not being honest, and I can’t risk the safety of the people on Sanctuary III.”

“I’ll go tell Tannis the plan,” Amara said. “She’ll have to let us know when the clones are recharging.”

“Make sure they’re recharging. If they’re out and they can monitor him, they’ll know right away that Tannis drugged him,” Zane said.

Amara left the bridge to go speak with Tannis. Lilith looked out at the galaxy surrounding them, troubled but determined.

“Maya never forgave herself for phaselocking him over the edge of Sanctuary,” she said at last. “She tortured him, but it was on my orders. I didn’t know he was going to react the way he did, but even once he started panicking, I didn’t order her to stop. Gaige made us stop. She was furious with us. The more I thought about it, the more I regretted doing it. It was something Handsome Jack would do.”

“We’ve all done some dark things,” Zane said. “And now we’re in the middle of a war with the Calypso twins. If he’s involved in it, we need to know. Whatever that takes.”

“Yea,” Lilith muttered. “Whatever that takes.” She straightened up. “Alright, be ready to make our move when Tim’s out. I’m going to call Moze and Fl4k and tell them to keep an eye out for Axton just in case.”

Without Amara there to stop him, Zane happily left the bridge and returned to Moxxi’s. Moxxi rolled her eyes but allowed him another drink.

Zane sipped his beer, thinking over the whole situation. Once they got that watch from Tim, he would put up a hell of a fight to get it back, even with his injuries still healing.

“Oi, another one. I’m gonna need it,” he said to Moxxi. This was going to be a long night. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updating once a week doesn't feel like enough. I'll still be updating every Wednesday but when I can manage it I'll try to get an extra update in during the week!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't figure out how to fix the formatting issue so I'm sorry about how annoying it is :/

Lilith came to find him in the bar a long while later. “Zane, come on. We’re carrying out the plan. Tannis said he’s out, and his watch is charging.”

Zane got up and followed her out. As they approached the medical room, she stopped and faced him.

“Tannis said she’ll pull a blanket over him so Gaige won’t notice the watch missing,” she said. “But as soon as Tim wakes up, it’s going to be hell. I want you to hide it somewhere safe, and somewhere far from the ship. Jack was able to remotely access the clones and summon them without touching the watch, and I’m worried Tim can do the same.”

“Marcus had a secret spot back at that old base on Pandora,” Zane said. “I’ll stick ‘em there. Even if they get out, as long as no one goes near the area, they can’t cause any damage.”

“Good enough. Just make sure they don’t have access to an ECHO, or they’ll be able to contact Tim,” Lilith warned.

“Gotcha,” Zane said. “Let’s get to grieving and thieving.”

They entered the room and Gaige looked over at them. Tim was out cold on the bed, the swelling of his face having gone down. It looked like he’d only need one or two more health kit treatments before he was all fixed up. He’d put up a good fight when he found the watch missing.

“Gaige, can I talk to you in private?” Lilith asked.

Gaige glanced at Tim. “Talk to me here.”

Lilith shook her head, and the sudden serious expression she had caught Gaige’s attention. “This is…Gaige, I want to talk about this in private. Please.”

Gaige got up, looked at Tim once more, and followed Lilith out. Zane waited until they were out of sight before moving to Tim.

“He’s not too heavily drugged. I didn’t want Gaige to notice,” Tannis said.

“As long as he’s drugged enough not to wake up when I take his watch off,” Zane said.

He cautiously unlatched the watch, sliding it from Tim’s wrist into his hand. Tim didn’t even stir.

“Easier than I thought,” Zane said, pocketing the watch.

“I hope Lilith has a plan for when he wakes up?” Tannis said. “He was essentially the pet of Handsome Jack for several years. Gaige might trust him, but he’s prone to violence. He will not give up that watch without a fight.”

“Uh…,” Zane said. “Huh, Lilith didn’t mention a plan for when he wakes up. Guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there?”

“Wonderful! I will not be there, because I value being alive,” Tannis said. “I would, however, be interested in taking a look at the watch at some point.”

“Got orders to keep it hidden and away from people,” Zane said. “Talk to Lilith if you want to go playin’ around with it.”

“Very well, then,” Tannis said. “He should be out for another two hours or so. Hard to tell how his body will react.”

Zane left the medical room and went to the fast travel station. He traveled to Pandora, and went down to the hidden spot next to Marcus’s machine, sticking the watch in a safe down there and locking it away.

“Sit tight, lads,” he said.

He traveled back to Sanctuary, and checked the medical room. Gaige still hadn’t returned.

“I wonder if she’s taking it hard.” 

He turned to face Amara. “Well, people die. Vault hunting isn’t exactly a safe profession.”

“Maya was still her friend,” Amara said. She looked at her own tattoos. “He just took her power, Zane. I can’t imagine how it felt, to be drained of a vital part of who you are. Sometimes I wonder if Maya had it better than Lilith. At least Maya didn’t have to lose that part of herself and struggle with it.”

“Wonder if Lilith will tell Gaige all the details,” Zane said.

“Probably. It’s best that Gaige knows how dangerous the twins are. Besides, if Tim is working with them, or trying to, it’s best that Gaige knows what they did to Maya,” Amara said.

“Something about this doesn’t sit right,” Zane said, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on what was off. If they wanted to contact the Calypso twins, why would they go through Aurelia Hammerlock to do it? And if the COV had been attacking Tim for looking like Jack, why would Tim risk being the one to make contact, instead of just sending Gaige to do it? “I don’t even know if I believe the Calypsos are involved in any of this.”

“If Tim worked with Aurelia under Jack, maybe she got ahold of him to recruit him?” Amara said.

“But then he wouldn’t need to steal the logs keeping track of her,” Zane said, shaking his head. “I don’t know. Too many wild factors here. We’ll need to press the boy for answers. Hopefully the threat of losing his watch’ll get him to cooperate.”

“If not, I have options,” Amara said, flexing her arms.

“That’s the spirit!” Zane said brightly. “We should probably stick around for when he wakes up. Gonna be a lot of fight in that one.”

“We can’t be too destructive, though. That’s our medical room,” Amara said. “We can’t risk destroying our own supplies and equipment.”

“He has no weapons, and now no digi-Jacks,” Zane said. “As long as Gaige doesn’t go summoning that robot thing again, we should have the upper-hand.”

“We should just destroy that watch. It’s dangerous. AIs based on Handsome Jack?” Amara shook her head. “It’s just asking for disaster.”

Zane thought of his own clone. “Nah, let the lad keep ‘em. If he cooperates.”

His clone was his company in a career where he couldn’t trust anyone. He could turn his back to his clone and know it wouldn’t get stabbed. Zane had learned early not to get attached to things, because in his line of work, loving something meant putting a target on it’s back. But he knew he’d be devastated if he lost his digi-clone device. Even getting a new one wouldn’t feel quite the same. His clone had a personality to it that he enjoyed.

“Alright. Well, let’s go into medical. If he wakes up, we don’t want Tannis alone with him,” Amara said.

The two entered medical and seated themselves. Tannis had pulled a blanket over Tim, hiding his wrists from sight.

“Did you know him back when he was on Sanctuary, Tannis?” Amara asked.

“Thankfully, no,” Tannis said. “I only heard what the others said after dealing with him.”

“I take it they weren’t singing his praises?” Zane guessed.

“Not quite. Lilith and Roland were struggling to get information from him. They were originally planning to use him to break into the Bunker, and then kill him. Roland said it was too dangerous to have two Handsome Jacks terrorizing Pandora. That’s how similar they were,” Tannis said.

“Jack’s scar was different,” Zane said, eyeing Tim’s face. “It was blue.”

“How do you know that?” Amara asked.

“Saw pictures of him pulling a job for Hyperion,” Zane said. He traced his finger in the air, in the shape of the scar on Tim’s face. “Jack had a blue one, and he was blind in one eye. This was a regular brand to Tim’s face, and both of his eyes are real.”

“Yes, I do recall them mentioning that. Apparently, Jack let him keep his eye because he’s a sniper,” Tannis said.

“I suspected that,” Zane said. “Goddamn I am a smart man. Handsome, too!”

“And oh so modest,” Amara said.

“Glad you know it,” Zane said. He frowned as he eyed Tim.

“What?” Amara asked, noticing his expression.

“Jack’s been dead for, what, seven years now?” Zane said.

“Yea, so?” Amara said.

“Why’s he still look like him?” Zane said, pulling Tim’s blanket back to reveal his full outfit. “I know Gaige said his face would blow up or whatever, but look at him. Same hairstyle, and similar clothing to what Jack wore. His shirt is even from Hyperion.”

It was true; Tim wore clothing similar to what Jack wore. He had on a plain Hyperion T-shirt with a jacket over it, jeans, and his sneakers. Zane realized the yellow stripes on his sneakers were supposed to match the Hyperion logo.

Amara looked him over and also frowned. “I hadn’t paid attention to his clothing.”

Zane was perceptive, as was required of his previous profession. He’d never bothered himself with Handsome Jack since he hadn’t been living on Pandora, but he’d always kept an eye on the man just in case he was contracted by him or against him. So he could still visualize what Jack looked like, and how he acted.

“Something really isn’t right here,” Zane said, that bad feeling in his gut growing stronger.

He pulled the blanket back over Tim, hiding his bare wrist from sight again. The bandages on his arm had been changed, and Zane was guessing the wounds hadn’t completely healed yet.

There was nothing more to do for the moment. They wouldn’t learn anything while Tim was out cold like this.

“Deal up, anyone?” Zane offered, getting up and grabbing a deck of cards from Tannis’ desk.

“Yea, sure, might as well,” Amara said.

Tannis brought over a table of medical instruments and cleared it off so they could sit around and play. Zane dealt everyone into a game, and they played to kill the time, keeping a careful eye on Tim for any sign of him coming around.

It was a while before Tim started shifting. Zane scooped up the cards and put them back in the box, handing them to Tannis.

He was surprised Gaige hadn’t come back yet; she and Lilith had been gone a while. Gaige didn’t seem like she wanted to leave Tim alone, so she must be taking Maya’s death hard.

It was still a few more minutes before Tim actually woke up. He pressed a hand to his head, looking groggy and confused.

He looked around and slowly seemed to realize where he was. He propped himself up on his elbows.

“Where’s Gaige?” he asked, voice thick with sleep.

“Lilith had to talk to her about something important,” Amara said.

Zane could see the way Tim’s eyes shifted between each of them, and he realized how bad things were about to get.

Sure enough, Tim reached for his watch, either to seek comfort in the feel of it or to summon his AI friends. But he touched bare skin, and froze.

“My watch,” he said.

Zane had watched vids of Handsome Jack. Tim had taken on the chilling calm Jack did.

None of them answered Tim. He wrapped his fingers around his bare wrist.

“Where is my watch?” he growled.

“Probably hiding alongside the truth of why you robbed Wainwright Jakobs,” Zane said.

“I told you why I took those logs,” Tim said. He sat up, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “Where the hell is my watch?”

They all stared at him, no one bothering to answer.

Tim took a slow, deep breath. “I have been bashed in the head with a gun like 3 times, nearly blew myself up, and had jabber shit flung at me repeatedly for the last several weeks of my life, which is a physical representation of how shitty it is. Now, how would you like it if you were already in a bad mood and then someone just freaking kidnapped your friends while you were sleeping?”

He was barely keeping his calm, and Zane could see his patience thinning as the silence grew thicker. Tim picked up the glass of water at his bedside table and drank some of it, lowering the glass and staring down at it.

“They’re my friends,” he said, hands tightening on the glass. “But you assholes aren’t.”

He whipped the glass at Tannis, and Amara managed to smack it away. Tim was already getting out of the bed, ready for a fight. He had no weapon, but that didn’t seem to concern him.

Zane watched him, taking in the sight of his expression. There was anger and a desperation that took him by surprise.

“Don’t make this hard, Tim,” Amara warned, aiming her gun at him.

Tim ran at her, and she moved to stand in front of Tannis. But then Tim knocked the surgical tray at them and quickly changed his course, dashing for the door out of the medical room instead.

Zane caught him, putting him in a chokehold. “Easy, boyo. The last thing these folks need is to go seeing a ghost on board.”

Tim struggled furiously against Zane, driving an elbow into Zane’s gut so hard that Zane almost lost hold of him. He tightened his grip, threatening to cut off Tim’s air supply.

“Don’t go gettin’ feisty,” Zane warned.

Tim’s struggles grew desperate, trying to claw Zane’s arm away from his throat. His eyes were wide and his breathing was harsh.

“Get off,” he wheezed.

“Well, we wouldn’t be in this position if you didn’t go throwing shite like a toddler having a tantrum,” Zane said.

The door to medical opened. Gaige took one look at the scene before her, grabbed the gun Lilith had holstered on her, and pointed it at Zane’s head.

“Let him go,” she said.

“Gaige!” Lilith said.

“Do you know Handsome Jack’s favorite method of murder?” Gaige said, paying no attention to Lilith. “Strangulation. Let him go, now.”

“Come inside, let the door close, and don’t go shootin’ me head off,” Zane said, loosening his grip.

Gaige and Lilith stepped into the room and Zane slowly released Tim. Tim sucked in air, staggering away from Zane.

“Tim, what’s going on?” Gaige demanded.

“They stole my watch!” Tim said, holding out his bare wrist.

Gaige froze, her body going rigid. It was a long moment before she spoke.

“Lilith,” she said slowly. “You didn’t just use that news to draw me away from him so your vault hunters could steal his watch, did you?”

“Lilith might trust you, but we don’t,” Zane said, deciding to save Lilith the hard decision of telling the truth or lying to Gaige. “I saw what that watch was capable of. I wasn’t risking your pal there havin’ it on our base.”

“Oh, you’re fucking with the wrong guy, grandpa,” Tim said, a warning grin coming to his face.

“Tim,” Gaige said sharply. He looked at her and the grin dropped off his face, darting his eyes down to his feet. Gaige turned to Zane. “We’re not a threat to you. Give Tim his watch back, and we’ll leave. Problem solved.”

“Problem not solved,” Amara said. “We want to know the real reason you robbed Wainwright Jakobs.”

“I told you why, and I told you I’d give the logs back,” Tim said, but he didn’t look at any of them. “Just give me my watch.”

“When was the last time you had contact with Aurelia Hammerlock?” Amara asked.

Tim finally looked up. “It’s been years. After Jack rose to power, she left. I never had a reason to contact her until now.”

“And that reason is?” Amara pressed.

“That reason is my business, and doesn’t concern you,” Tim said. “It’s about our time on Elpis. Those Calypso twins look young enough to have still been shitting their pants and sucking their thumbs back then, so it’s got nothing to do with them.”

“We’re not your enemies,” Gaige said, and she was looking at Lilith. Her shoulders had slumped, and she handed Lilith the gun back, looking exhausted. “Just let us go, Lilith. Please.”

“We can help you,” Lilith said.

“No, you can’t,” Tim said. “Give me my watch, and we’ll be on our way. Gaige will give you the ECHO logs she took, and you have the ones that were in my bag. Hell, take the pistol and shotgun.”

“We’re searching for Aurelia, too,” Amara said. “But we plan to kill her.”

“And amen to that,” Tim said. “Just as long as I get to talk to her before you take her out.”

“Looking for someone you don’t even have loyalty for?” Amara said.

“Trust me, I have no loyalty for someone who once used me as a doormat to wipe her feet on,” Tim said. “I need information from her, and then she can go fuck a jabber for all I care.”

He seemed anxious, rubbing at his bare wrist. Zane didn’t like the look of him. He seemed like a man unraveling, and a man like that was unpredictable and dangerous.

Gaige seemed to notice how on-edge he was, too. She moved a little closer to him.

“Give him his watch,” she said, shooting a warning look at Lilith.

“No can do,” Amara said, crossing her arms. “We’ll give him the watch when he gives us the truth.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Zane knew it would snap Tim. Zane moved quickly, putting himself between Amara and Tim just as Tim sprang forward, a scalpel in his hand. Zane hadn’t even seen him swipe it from one of the tables.

Tim drove it into Zane’s shoulder, giving a savage yank to pull it out. Zane hissed in pain, and caught Tim’s wrist.

“Don’t make me break it,” he warned.

“Give me my watch!” Tim snarled.

“Tim, stop!” Gaige said in alarm. “Stop, they’ll give it to you!”

Tim ignored her, lifting the scalpel, his eyes on Zane’s throat. Zane began to twist his wrist to break it, lifting his other hand to try and deflect the incoming blow.

None of it was necessary. Tim let out a noise of surprise before slumping forward against Zane, the scalpel falling from his limp hand as his eyes closed. Zane caught him, wincing at the pain in his shoulder. He lowered Tim to the floor, looking up at Tannis, and down to the needle in Tim’s neck.

“Well, I thought it was best to be prepared. I figured he wouldn’t take well to you taking his watch,” she said, plucking the needle from his neck.

“Tim!” Gaige said, hurrying forward. “What did you do to him, Tannis?”

“Powerful sedative,” Tannis said, searching around for a health kit and handing it to Zane. He promptly stuck it in his shoulder.

“Gaige, what the hell is going on with him? You told me years ago that he wasn’t dangerous,” Lilith said.

“He wasn’t!” Gaige said, struggling to pull Tim up. Zane helped her get him up and back onto the bed. Gaige looked down at him and let out a frustrated noise. “A few…things…happened. A lot of things, actually. It backed Tim into a corner, and he slipped back into the Handsome Jack persona without even realizing it. Ugh, fuck Jack! Even dead, he’s still a nightmare!”

“What things?” Lilith asked.

“The COV, for one,” Gaige said. “They almost killed him twice. And then, well, this thing he needs to talk to Aurelia about. He didn’t tell me much. Whatever it is, it’s had him on edge, and he keeps slipping back into Handsome Jack as a defense mechanism, I think. Sometimes he wakes up screaming in the middle of the night, and the only thing that calms him down is summoning Blue and Jay. Whatever’s going on, he’s relying heavily on them for it.”

“He’s unstable,” Zane said.

“I know,” Gaige said, and now she sounded as tired as she looked. “He worked so hard to shed Handsome Jack and become Timothy Lawrence, and now whatever is happening is driving him right back to Jack. He was really starting to be…I don’t know, himself? Whoever he was before Jack got him is long gone, but he was building his own life back. He hasn’t told me much about what’s going on, but I can’t leave him. I can’t. If he’s alone, he’ll forget himself.” She groaned. “This sucks.” She lightly whacked Tim’s arm. “You suck.”

“It’s too dangerous to keep him here without restraining him or locking him up,” Lilith said. “But, Gaige, I don’t trust him right now. If he’s coming apart like that, it’s too dangerous to help him without knowing what he’s after. For all we know, Handsome Jack could’ve left something behind that Tim’s trying to get his hands on.”

“He’s not Handsome Jack,” Gaige said firmly. “I still trust him.”

“We don’t,” Tannis said. “I have eight more sedatives on hand in case he tries to stab anyone else.”

Zane rubbed his shoulder. “Feisty bastard. Kind of like ‘im, though!”

“He stabbed you,” Amara said.

“That’s how I met some of me favorite drinking buddies,” Zane said.

“He needs help,” Gaige said, her eyes tracing over the scar on his face. “Something is scaring him so badly he only feels safe as Handsome Jack.”

Lilith put a hand on her shoulder. “I know you trust him, Gaige. But right now, I think it’s best if we lock him somewhere until we all know what’s really going on. It could be something dangerous.” At the furious look Gaige shot her, Lilith shook her head. “Not restraining him. Just…putting him in a room he can’t get out of. He’s a danger to everyone right now, and you know it.”

Gaige seemed to struggle with Lilith’s words, and didn’t speak for a while. Finally, she looked up.

“We try it,” she said. “But if it makes him worse, you let me leave with him. And you have to let me have the watch. I promise I won’t give it to him, but he won’t be as violent if he knows someone he trusts has it.”

“Alright,” Lilith said. “He should be monitored, though.” She thought for a moment. “Zane, you’re good at getting information. You’ll stay in the room with him, at least for the first day. Just try to gain his trust and see if he’ll tell you what’s going on. You weren’t involved with Handsome Jack, so maybe he’ll tell you even if he won’t tell Gaige.”

“So, we’re torturing him, basically. Imagine being locked in a room with Zane for an entire day,” Amara said.

“Better than being locked in a room with Claptrap for an entire day,” Zane said. “Besides, I’m fabulous company!”

“Please don’t mention that Claptrap is on this ship,” Gaige said. “I think Tim will space himself.”

“We’ll move him into a vacant room and let Zane stay with him,” Lilith said, looking confident now that they had a plan. “Gaige, we’ll give you the watch. But I’m trusting you on this.”

“I won’t give it to him,” Gaige said. “I know he’s dangerous right now, Lilith. If he tells Blue and Jay to kill everyone on this ship so Tim can escape, they can’t disobey. I have friends on here.”

“Friends you can visit with while Zane bonds with Tim,” Lilith said.

Zane rubbed his shoulder. “I hope the bonding involves a lot less stabbing.”

“Amara, you go clean a room out. Then go join Moze and Fl4k, and the three of you can keep looking into the COV business while Zane helps with Tim,” Lilith said.

Amara nodded and left medical. Zane looked at Tim, whose expression was troubled even in his sleep. This was going to be quite the challenge. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going through a rough time but writing helps a lot, so here's one of those surprise chapters I talked about and I hope you're all doing well <3


	6. Chapter 6

Tim woke slowly. It started with him shifting around, making noises. Zane was flipping through a magazine, and while he didn’t look away from it, he made sure to be on guard.

Tim sat up, pressing a hand to his head. Zane glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes.

“Where am I?” Tim mumbled, looking around in confusion. He spotted Zane, his confusion growing.

“Morning,” Zane greeted.

Tim touched his bare wrist and froze. He looked down, and his eyes widened. He looked back to Zane, narrowing his eyes.

“My watch,” he said.

“Oi, not this again,” Zane said, setting his magazine down. “The watch is with Gaige.”

Tim got up, body sluggish from the sedative. But his eyes glinted dangerously.

“Tim, stop.”

Gaige was standing in the doorway, Lilith behind her. She held up his watch.

“I have Blue and Jay,” she said. “I won’t let anyone hurt them. I promise.”

“Give it to me, Gaige,” Tim said anxiously.

Gaige shook her head. “Not right now, Tim. I was just letting you know they’re safe. You need to get ahold of yourself, and then you can have them back and we can leave. Okay?”

“You’re locking me up?” Tim said in disbelief.

“I’m going to make sure nothing happens to you,” Gaige said. “But you’re acting like him, and you know it. Get your shit together and we can go. Got it, Timothy?”

Tim opened his mouth to argue, but then the fight died out of him. He sat back on the bed, running a hand through his hair.

“Don’t let anyone touch them,” he said at last.

“They’re safe with me,” Gaige assured. She strapped the watch to her wrist and pulled her sleeve over it.

Tim watched Gaige and Lilith leave. He groaned and pressed his palms against his eyes, leaning back against the wall.

“My stupid ass life,” he grumbled.

“Why’d you become Jack’s double?” Zane asked.

“Money,” Tim said, dropping his hands from his eyes. “I had student loans to pay off. I should’ve just worked in fast food.”

“Surgically altered! Had to hurt like a bitch,” Zane said.

Tim grimaced. “Wilhelm wanted to know all the details. Always wanted to upgrade himself. At this point, I think I’d rather off myself than so much as have my wisdom teeth removed. No more surgeries for me.” He looked around the room. “So am I stuck in here with you, or…?”

“Better get used to me, boyo,” Zane said brightly. “We’re like roommates now.”

“Fantastic,” Tim said. “Fan-freaking-tastic.”

“I’m great company,” Zane said.

“I don’t want company,” Tim said.

“Well, you can’t be left on your own. You did stab me with a scalpel,” Zane said, pointing at his healed shoulder. “Bit rude of ya.”

“Shit,” Tim said, rubbing at his eyes again. “Yea, guess it was rude. I’m not sorry. You robbed me. But, yea, guess I overreacted. Shit.”

He kept touching his wrist, shaking his leg anxiously. Tim was a dangerous man, wildly swinging between moods.

Zane had seen victims of torture before. Physical and psychological. He knew a lot of them never fully recovered from it. He also knew Handsome Jack had been particularly good at any form of torture he set his mind to.

This doppelganger had probably never fully escaped Jack’s influence. Maybe he didn’t want to be like Jack, but it had become a defense mechanism.

“You’ve been living alone since leaving Jack?” Zane asked. He needed to understand Tim more before he could try gaining his trust.

“Yea. Legally, Timothy Lawrence is dead. Jack faked my death when I took on the body double gig. No family or friends to go back to,” Tim said. “Clearly, I made a great life decision and picked a stellar career choice for myself. Shit. Should’ve just stuck to being an actor.”

“The Tames Pandora fella,” Zane said.

“Hey, if you’ve got the face, use it,” Tim said with a shrug.

Zane gestured to his own face. “Don’t I know it.”

Tim was rubbing his wrist again. “How long am I stuck in here for?”

“Not sure,” Zane said. “You’re kind of in time-out, so I guess whenever they’ve decided you’re being a good boy.”

Tim was on edge again. They’d cleared the room out so that there was nothing Tim could use as a weapon, but Zane didn’t put it past the guy to find something anyways.

Tim’s eyes kept darting to the door, which was locked from the outside. It was hard to tell what would calm him, since Zane couldn’t even be sure what was putting him on edge.

It was a gamble to bring up the topic, but Zane decided to go for it. Maybe Tim would break down and start babbling, or maybe he’d attack Zane and Zane would have to use one of the sedatives Tannis had given him.

“What’d Jack do to you?” Zane asked. “Heard he was a nasty bastard.”

Tim’s face paled and he rubbed his wrist so hard Zane wondered if he’d take the skin right off. “Did you know he locked up his own daughter and pumped her full of Eridium? I didn’t know that, not until Gaige told me. Not until Angel was dead. If he could do that to his daughter, I’m sure you can imagine what he’d do to someone he wasn’t supposed to love and protect.”

“Aye, family can be shite,” Zane said with a nod.

“Yea. Family can be shit,” Tim said, digging his thumb into his wrist. “You have a bad one?”

“Well, me brothers were always trying to kill me, but they’ve been dead longer than Jack,” Zane said. “Me nephew, too. Little bastard.”

“Did you kill them?” Tim asked, seeming partially relieved to have the conversation off of himself.

“Oh, no, didn’t get to do it myself,” Zane said. “But now I’m the surviving Flynt brother! Karma for all the times they sent mercenaries after me, I guess. Let it be a lesson to ya.”

“Wait, wait, Flynt? As in Captain Flynt, the bandit?” Tim said in surprise.

“Captain and Baron,” Zane said. “My older brothers.”

“Jack couldn’t stand Flynt,” Tim said, shaking his head. “He hated bandit kings.”

“Well, like you, they made some bad career choices,” Zane said.

“And you?” Tim said.

“Black-ops,” Zane said. “Espionage, assassinations, vault hunting. A simple life for me.”

“Simple,” Tim said, scoffing. “Yea, real freaking simple.”

Zane decided to risk bringing up the watch. “Did Jack make that watch for ya?”

“He gave it to me when I first started working for him,” Tim said, rubbing at his wrist again. “They were powerful, but they were just battle-minded, and they were unstable. They’d deconstruct and a new one would reconstruct continuously until the battery ran out. Jack and I fixed them up, and I convinced him to add in the advanced AI.”

Zane summoned his clone and Tim stared at it warily. It made no moves to attack, just looked to Zane for what to do.

“This handsome guy’s got basic AI,” Zane said. “Can’t speak, but he can interact with me, keep me company.” Zane looked at his clone, an identical version of himself. “So when you first started working for Jack, he wasn’t Handsome Jack. Your digi-Jacks have his old face.”

Tim touched his face, fingers lingering just under the gruesome scar on his face. “Right, he was just a programmer for Hyperion.” He gave a hollow smile. “Had to be the perfect doppelganger.”

“Except your eye,” Zane said.

“Practical decision. I’m a sniper,” Tim said, dropping his hand back to his wrist.

Maybe it was just a practical decision, but Zane didn’t think so. Not entirely, anyways. With the money Handsome Jack had, he could’ve easily made a high-tech cybernetic eye with capabilities beyond what Tim’s normal eye could do with a sniper rifle. Zane’s own cybernetic eye offered him some advantages in combat.

But he didn’t mention it. If Tim had survived Jack for so long, then Jack must’ve been fond of him. Even the people Jack had use for tended to end up dead sooner or later.

Zane didn’t kid himself; Handsome Jack had no healthy concept of affection. He’d used his own daughter for his own means, regardless of the damage it did to her. But that didn’t mean he didn’t feel affection.

Still, if Tim had been on the receiving end of that affection, it meant he’d be subjected to Jack’s sadistic tendencies. A man like Handsome Jack was viciously protective, and horribly paranoid. If Tim was important to him, Jack would’ve kept him safe from any threats he perceived, regardless of what it did to Tim’s mental or physical health.

“Still alive over there, gramps?” Tim asked. “You’ve been quiet for longer than three seconds. I didn’t even think you were capable of that.”

“I like the sound of me own voice,” Zane said, sending his clone away. “It’s a soothing sound.”

“We have some disagreements here,” Tim said.

Keeping him talking seemed to be calming him down. His wrist was red from how intensely he’d been rubbing it, but his leg wasn’t shaking as much, and some of the tension had left his shoulders. He looked around the room, this time actually taking in the view of it.

Tim got up, stretched, and paced around the room. His posture was easy enough, but Zane was sure that Tim was looking for anything he could use as a weapon, and memorizing the layout of the room. He seemed to be just as paranoid as Jack when it came to his safety.

Once he’d lapped the room a few times, he sat back down on the bed. Sitting here with nothing to do would just leave him to his thoughts, which could be dangerous. Zane pulled out a deck of cards.

“A game, boyo?” he offered.

“Nothing better to do,” Tim said, getting up and sitting across from Zane. “Hope you’re not intending to bet. All I’ve got are my clothes, and I’m not trying to strip for Sanctuary’s senior citizen.”

“Trust me, I’m not trying to see that body with no clothes on. ‘Handsome Jack’ was false advertising,” Zane said, dealing cards to Tim.

They played for a while, and Tim seemed thankful that they weren’t betting. Having something to focus on stopped Tim from rubbing his wrist as much, but he still did it whenever he started to lose another game.

Zane was a few cards away from defeating Tim yet again when the door to the room opened. Gaige came in with a big tray of food, setting it on their table.

“Dinner or lunch or whatever fucking time it is,” Gaige said. She pointed at one half of the tray. “Tim, this is your half.” She stole a bite of his meal.

“I’m locked in here with the hustling grandpa, and you have to rub salt in the wound by eating my food,” Tim said.

“I didn’t hustle you! I never claimed to be bad at cards. I knew I was going to kick your arse,” Zane said.

“Whatever. Did you know this dude’s a Flynt? As in, brother of Captain Flynt?” Tim said, helping himself to a bite of his food.

“Oh. Well…” Gaige did not mention the fact that she had murdered Captain Flynt and his son, and instead settled for stealing another bite of Tim’s food.

Zane helped himself to his meal, not realizing how hungry he actually was until he started eating. Gaige was acting casual, but Zane could see she was trying to judge Tim’s current mental state.

Tim finished his meal and leaned back in the chair. “Where are they, Gaige?”

“I still have them,” Gaige said. She noticed his wrist and scowled, whacking him in the shoulder. “You’re going to rub right down to the bone. Cut it out.”

“I would cut it out if I had my watch back,” Tim said, the anger quick to flash to his expression. “And if you didn’t lock me up like a damn prisoner.”

“And we were having such a lovely time of me kicking his arse at cards,” Zane said with a sigh.

Gaige ignored him. “You’re not a prisoner, Tim.”

“If I wasn’t a prisoner, then I could leave right now,” Tim challenged.

Gaige glared. “You stabbed Zane.”

“He took my friends!” Tim said. “Of course I tried to freaking stab him!”

“Sittin’ right here,” Zane reminded.

“Tim, you need to stay in here until you calm down,” Gaige said. “Get ahold of yourself. You’re losing your grip, and you know it.”

“You’re not keeping me in here,” Tim said, his body trembling now. He clenched his fists tightly.

“You need to stay in here,” Gaige said.

“This is exactly what Jack used to do!” Tim exploded, slamming his fists on the table and standing up. “Fuck you. Locking me away until I behave how you want.” His expression twisted into something dark. “No one controls me, kiddo.”

Gaige closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. She opened them and stepped towards Tim. Zane put his hand on his gun under the table.

But Tim didn’t stop Gaige as she put a hand on his shoulder. When he didn’t reject her, she wrapped the arm around his shoulders and pulled him in close.

“You told me not to let you become him,” she said. “That’s what you wanted, Timothy. That’s why I’m doing this.”

His expression crumbled and he slammed his fists against the table again. “Shit. Shit, I suck. I’m sorry, Gaige. I’m sorry.”

“Yea, you suck,” Gaige said, the hint of a smile on her face. It was forced, but it was there. “So quit sucking and we can go already. Asshole.”

Tim sat back down heavily and Gaige pulled her arm away from him, putting her hand back on his shoulder. He ran his hands through his hair, tugging at it roughly. Gaige swatted his hands away as a few strands of hair fluttered to the ground.

“What is wrong with me?” Tim groaned. “God, I’m such an asshole.”

“I could’ve told you that,” Gaige said.

“Don’t listen to me when I…get like that,” Tim said. “Shit. This sucks. I don’t know why I keep losing my temper.”

“Go back to sleep. Zane and I will get you some fresh clothes and blankets. We’ll be right back,” Gaige said, squeezing his shoulder before dropping her hand.

Zane could take a hint. He followed her out of the room and they locked the door. Gaige hugged her arms to her chest.

“Blue and Jay can communicate through an ECHO if you plug them in. I convinced Lilith to let me talk to them that way, under her supervision so she knew I wasn’t putting Sanctuary in danger,” Gaige said.

“And?” Zane said.

“And they’re really worried about him. They said the stress and anxiety is affecting him physically because of how severe they are,” she said. “Apparently Tim asked them not to tell me. But he didn’t order them not to tell me, so they finally did when I explained we had Tim isolated from the rest of the ship for his own good.”

“And you have no clue what he’s actually after, trying to track down Aurelia?” Zane said.

Gaige shook her head. “He contacted me and said he needed my help to find something. He said Aurelia Hammerlock might know more, but he never told me what it actually was. When I asked him, he just asked me to trust him. He looked so, I don’t know, desperate? I had to help him. He’s my friend.”

“I kept his mind off whatever it is enough to calm him down at least a bit,” Zane said. “Look Gaige, a guy like him is broken in a way I’m not sure you can ever fix.” He held up a hand at the anger on her face. “Hold up with your ‘fuck you’ chants. Handsome Jack was a sick bastard, and he was thorough. He broke your pal Tim there pretty carefully. You have to understand there’s a part of him that will always resort back to Handsome Jack when he’s cornered.”

“I refuse to believe that,” Gaige said firmly. “He can escape Handsome Jack. It won’t be easy, and it might not be for years. But someday, he’ll recover from what Jack did to him, and he’ll be his own person. I don’t care if he still looks like Jack. He’s not Handsome Jack.”

Zane shrugged, knowing not to waste his breath on an argument with someone who simply refused to accept any other truth than one they’d decided for themselves. “Suit yourself. Let’s get him some clothes and whatnot before he finds a makeshift weapon.”

They gathered clothes, blankets, and a toothbrush before returning to the room. Zane could call in for someone else to sit with Tim if he got too tired to do it anymore, but he was used to staying up for several days to stake out a target.

Tim was still sitting at the table when they came back, and Zane took a quick survey of the room to make sure he hadn’t tried to swipe anything as a weapon. Everything was in its proper place and nothing was missing from the tray.

“Goodnight, Tim,” Gaige said. “Or good afternoon or good morning. I don’t even know anymore. Space is a shitty place to get your bearings on time.”

Tim just gave her a tired nod. She left the room, and Tim gathered the blankets in his arms, carrying them over to the bed.

He didn’t ask about their conversation, though Zane was sure he had to know they’d been discussing him. He tossed the blankets down, stripped off his torn and battered jacket, and laid down without changing into the sweatpants and T-shirt they’d brought for him.

Tim rolled to face the wall, but Zane could tell he wasn’t asleep. As time passed by, Tim did not fall asleep, but he didn’t move or speak again. Zane could see the slightest shifting of the covers as Tim rubbed his wrist.

Zane picked his magazine back up. This was going to be a long night, that was for sure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don't think I'll be able to update Wednesday, and instead I'll update today and Friday and then go back to every Wednesday!


	7. Chapter 7

It was hours after he’d laid down before Tim actually fell asleep. He certainly wasn’t getting a good night’s sleep, though.

He shifted restlessly, groaning and mumbling in his sleep. Zane couldn’t always make out what Tim was saying, but he heard Jack’s name whimpered a few times.

Tim shifted around so much that he became tangled in the sheets. He was sweating, and even in his sleep, his hand touched at his wrist repeatedly.

Zane wasn’t surprised at all when Tim finally jerked upright, screaming and clawing at his own neck. His eyes were opened but dazed and panicked, and his nails tore at the skin of his throat.

“Oi, wake up,” Zane said, tossing his magazine at Tim. It hit him, but Tim didn’t stop screaming and struggling.

Zane got up, heaving a sigh. He really didn’t want to get close to a disoriented, violence-prone man.

But he couldn’t let Tim rip his own throat out. He’d definitely get in trouble for letting that happen on his watch.

So he carefully approached and waited for an opening to lunge forward and grip Tim’s arms. The room was dark, as Zane had turned most of the lights off once Tim fell asleep, and so Tim probably couldn’t make out who was grabbing him. His screaming continued and he yanked savagely to try and free his arms from Zane’s grasp.

“Jack, stop! I’m sorry!” Tim said desperately. “Don’t!”

“Jack’s dead, boyo,” Zane assured him, restraining Tim’s body before he could start throwing his weight around in defense. “It’s just me, Zane. You’re on Sanctuary, with Gaige.”

Tim was gasping for breath, deep in the grips of a panic attack now. He tried to cower away from Zane.

“Stop,” he begged. “Stop, Jack, I didn’t…You sent me there…You sent me…” His whole body trembled against Zane, and he was sweating so badly it was almost hard for Zane to keep hold of his arms. “You didn’t tell me about the Siren. I didn’t…it’s not my fault…I…”

His panic was growing, chest heaving as he struggled to get air in and out. Zane was at a loss for what to do with him.

“Please, Jack, don’t fix me again,” Tim pleaded. “It’s not my fault.”

“Alrighty, this isn’t going well,” Zane said, grabbing one of the sedatives Tannis had given him and sticking it into Tim’s neck.

Tim’s eyes widened in terror. “No,” he whispered. “No more poisoning, I didn’t-”

He slumped forward before he could finish what he was saying. Zane lowered him back into the bed, prying the covers away and setting them back over his body. Tim’s face was pale, but his breathing was already returning to normal.

Zane stretched. “Well, that’ll knock you out for a while, eh? Guess I’ll steal a few hours.”

He helped himself to one of Tim’s blankets, draping it over the chair and sitting back down, crossing his arms and closing his eyes. Tim had been out for a while last time they stuck the sedative in him, so Zane would have time to nap a bit.

But he couldn’t stop thinking about what Tim had said. “The Siren” could refer to Lilith or Maya. Or possibly even Angel. The whole “fix me” thing probably referred to whatever torture Jack whipped up for Tim when he didn’t act how Jack wanted him to.

Still, Tim kept saying “it’s not my fault”. What wasn’t his fault?

Zane opened his eyes, sighing. What could have Tim in such a disturbed state? Handsome Jack had been dead for a long time.

Unless…

Zane stood up and went to the door. “Hey, I need to talk to Gaige.”

The door opened, one of Jakobs’ people stationed outside as a guard. Zane nodded a thanks to her before taking off.

He wasn’t quite sure where to find Gaige, but the bridge seemed like the best place to start his search. When he got there, though, Gaige wasn’t around.

“Lilith, where’s Gaige?” Zane asked.

“Zane? Who’s with Tim?” Lilith said.

“Powerful sedatives are keepin’ him company. Gaige?” Zane said.

“I let her stay in my room while they’re here. She should be there now,” Lilith said.

Zane left the bridge and went to Lilith’s room. The door was locked, so he knocked on it.

“It’s me,” he called.

It was a moment before the door opened and Gaige stood before him, her robot lingering behind her. She had some tools scattered on the ground, and appeared to have been fixing up the robot.

“Tim’s out. Had to stick him with the sedatives,” Zane said, letting himself into the room and shutting the door. “He was havin’ a nightmare. Trying to claw his own throat out.”

“He does that,” Gaige said, dismissing her robot and starting to pick her tools up. “Usually he swipes Blue and Jay into existence before it gets that bad, but sometimes I have to restrain him until he comes around.”

“Gaige, is there any chance Jack is still around?” Zane said.

Gaige stared at him in confusion. “Uh, hello? I was there when Lilith killed him. There’s no chance that asshole’s still walking around.”

Zane shook his head. “No, I know that. I’ve seen the pictures of his corpse. Physically, I know he’s dead.”

Her eyes widened in understanding. “What, you mean like a digital form of Jack?”

“Possibly,” Zane said. “Is it so crazy to believe? If he made those AIs for Tim, who says he didn’t make some for himself? It could be why Tim’s so attached to the watch. He could be afraid their data will become corrupted if there’s any digital trace of Jack left. Even a virus that alters them to act like him.”

“Tim would’ve mentioned something like that,” Gaige said after a moment. “And even if there was something like that, Jack knew Tim had the watch when we helped him escape. He was searching relentlessly for Tim. If he’d had the means to infect Blue and Jay, he would’ve, just to force them to bring Tim back.”

But Gaige looked unsure now. She put her tools away and paced the small room.

“He would’ve told me if it was something like that,” she said at last.

“Unless he just suspects it’s something like that, and needs Aurelia to confirm. They were working with Jack during his rise to power. Jack might’ve been working on something then,” Zane said. “All I know, is that this fella thinks Handsome Jack is either still around, or coming back.”

“Son of a bitch, I can’t believe I have to have an intervention with a grown ass man,” Gaige groaned.

“How old is he anyways?” Zane asked, realizing there was no real way to guess.

“He won’t tell me. All I know is he’s younger than Jack but older than Axton,” she said. “Probably in his 30s? Honestly, sometimes I’m not even sure if he remembers how old he is. He’s gotten his birthday mixed up with Jacks a lot.”

“Ah, age stops matterin’ after a while,” Zane said dismissively. “We should talk to him about this, though. The Jack thing, not the age thing.”

“Yea, sure,” Gaige said, finally sitting down. “God, Tim’s such a pain in the ass.”

“A drink while we wait?” Zane offered.

Gaige sprang up. “Hell yea, dude. I’m going to need it.”

***

Tim was groggy and disoriented when he woke up. Zane and Gaige waited for him to get his bearing, rubbing at his head as he looked around.

“Did you freaking drug me again?” Tim asked, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Son of a taint, you did.”

“You were having one of your violent nightmares again,” Gaige said.

“Trying to claw your own throat out,” Zane said. “Figured knocking you out was a better option than letting you die on my watch. I don’t want to piss off your friend and her robot here.”

“His name is Deathtrap,” Gaige said. “And no, you don’t want to piss us off.”

Tim touched his neck, where there were scratches. Some of them were surprisingly deep. He looked at his bloodied nails.

“Great job, Timothy. Fucking superb,” he grumbled, standing up and waiting for his legs to adjust. His body still seemed slightly unresponsive, the drugs still making him sluggish. Once he had his balance steady, he walked over to the table they were sitting at.

He grabbed Gaige’s water bottle and poured it over his hands, scrubbing the blood off himself. He splashed some on his neck as well, and dried his hands on his pants.

“Blue and Jay?” he asked Gaige.

“Timothy, how many times do I have to tell you they’re safe?” Gaige said. “Don’t go doubting me.”

“Right, sorry,” he said. “So am I free of the grandpa and stuck with you instead?”

“Nope!” Zane said brightly. “I’m sticking around. Lucky you.”

“Lucky me,” Tim said miserably.

“Tim, we have to ask you something,” Gaige said.

They’d talked it over while Tim was out. They knew he’d likely react violently, and Zane was prepared to sedate him again if they couldn’t calm him.

Tim looked at her warily. “Is this going to end with me being drugged again? Because I’m starting to feel like a pincushion.”

“If you can keep your damn chill, you can stay conscious,” Gaige said. She glanced at Zane before meeting Tim’s eyes. “Tim, is some part of Jack still alive in the world? A digital part, maybe?”

Tim froze. Zane had been prepared for violence and panic. Instead, a chilling calm fell over Tim, and Handsome Jack appeared before them.

There was certainly part of him still alive in the world.

Gaige noticed the change immediately. “Timothy-”

Tim held up a hand. “Listen, kiddo. Remember when I told you about that H-source shitshow? The information I’m after is similar to that. Jack left some…sensitive data behind when he died. I’m going to find it, destroy it, and be done with the whole mess.”

“Sensitive data?” Zane asked. “I never saw any hint of that when I looked through Hyperion’s servers. Don’t tell them I did that, by the way. They already want me dead.”

“You think we’re stupid?” Tim said, and Gaige clenched her fist. “Of course it wasn’t just lying around in the servers. It was something only the Elpis vault hunters should’ve known about.”

“But someone else knows?” Zane said.

“For now,” Tim said.

Gaige stood up, grabbed Tim by the shoulders, and slapped him. He looked at her in surprise.

“Timothy Lawrence,” she said. He looked confused now. “Timothy Lawrence. That’s your name. Acting is your favorite thing. You like cats. You like telling me to fuck off when I say you’re going to be a crazy cat lady. You like telling lame puns.” She tightened her grip on him. “You once spared a lost legion soldier’s life because you’re not Jack. You’re not Jack.”

The Jack-like expression fell from his face. He gave a sheepish smile, though Zane could see the shame in his eyes.

“Yea, I get it. I’m Timothy Lawrence. I’m horrendously broke, acrophobic, and almost got killed by the girl I wanted to date,” he said. “I’m a loser, I suck, and I deserve to be slapped three more times.”

Gaige lightly hit his cheek three times. “You need a shower. You’re gross. You always get all sweaty when you have a nightmare.”

“Could hardly keep a grip on ya,” Zane said, getting up. “C’mon, we’ll get him cleaned up.”

“I hope to god you’re not going to try to bathe me. God, that’s just a gross image,” Tim said.

“You seem old enough to bathe yourself,” Zane said. “Let’s go. And bring the toothbrush. I know you didn’t brush ‘em before going to bed.”

“Ew, Tim, did you ever learn personal hygiene?” Gaige said, grabbing the toothbrush and pushing it into his hands.

Zane led them out of the room and to the showers. Tim went into the bathroom, and Zane stood outside the door as he heard the water start.

“Nothing is ever easy with him,” Gaige said, shaking her head. “Honestly, I don’t even know what to do anymore. I don’t know if calling off this search or going through with it will be worse for him at this point.”

“Hard to say,” Zane admitted.

Inside the bathroom, Tim pulled his head away from the door as the other two fell silent outside. He stripped his clothes off, looking at the ruined state of his shirt. He tossed it in the trash and stepped under the warm spray of the shower.

He touched the scar on his face, his heart beating faster like it always did when he was reminded of the horror of being branded. A permanent sign he was Handsome Jack’s property.

He pressed his forehead to the wall of the shower as the water poured over him. His muscles felt tense, and the skin around his throat was sore where he’d clawed at it.

After Jack’s death, his nightmares never fully stopped. They eased, and sometimes he actually got to sleep through the night. But they came back in clusters, and Tim would suffer sleepless nights and times where he woke up hurting his own body.

The most recent recurring nightmare was one where Jack choked him. Tim tried desperately to pry Jack’s hands from his throat as his windpipe was crushed, leaving him unable to scream for help, try as he might.

How did Zane and Gaige know?

How did they know Jack wasn’t entirely gone from the world?

Tim dug his fingers against the wall until they hurt. He couldn’t tell them the truth. An altered version was all he could bear to tell them.

He had to get a grip on himself. When panic took over, his reaction was to slip into the Handsome Jack persona. Violence, taunts, cruelty in abundance.

Tim reached out and turned the temperature of the water as cold as he could get it. The once soothing droplets were now like icicles assaulting his back, and his body trembled from the shocking drop in temperature.

“Timothy Lawrence,” he whispered, closing his eyes, trying to picture his old face.

He couldn’t. Not anymore. Just a blurred figure with freckles.

“Timothy Lawrence,” he repeated, his skin starting to go numb from the cold.

He stood under the water until his teeth chattered and his skin started to turn unhealthy shades of blue and purple. He shut the water off and stepped out, wrapping a towel around himself and brushing his teeth. He avoided his own reflection in the mirror.

He grabbed the clean clothes they’d given him and changed into them. They weren’t quite his size, but it was better than his destroyed Hyperion shirt.

Tim left the bathroom and Zane and Gaige glanced at him. Gaige furrowed her brow and went over, pressing her hand to his arm.

“Holy shit, you’re freezing,” she said.

“I had an ice shower, thanks for asking,” Tim said. “Get it? Like nice shower, but-”

Gaige promptly slapped her hand over his mouth. “Just stop right there, Timmy.”

They led him back to the room and as the door shut behind them, he felt anxiety growing in his chest. Every moment he wasted haunted him. He couldn’t stay locked up in here.

“What if I help you catch Aurelia?” he blurted before he could think it over.

Gaige and Zane both looked at him in surprise. He forced himself to look confident.

God, he was an idiot. Why did he say things without thinking?

“What?” Gaige said at last.

“They’re looking for Aurelia, right? Well, so are we,” Tim said. He was relieved for all those improvisational acting classes he took. He just had to bullshit his way through this and go from there. “Why not help them find her? I can ask her what I need to, and then they can kill her. Everybody wins. We go on our way, and they go about their COV business.”

“Gonna need to pass that one with Lilith,” Zane said.

“So let’s run it by her. There are no downsides. I help you get your hands on Aurelia, I get the information I need, and you get to kill her,” Tim said. “Everybody wins.”

Gaige was frowning, and he hated that uncertainty in her eyes. They’d been friends for years, but his current deteriorating mental state was making her doubt him. She was the only real friend he had, and seeing her look at him like that hurt him more than he would ever admit to.

But then she gave a slow nod. “Yea, that could work. But only if you promise to keep up good hygiene. I can’t believe you went to sleep without brushing your fucking teeth, Timothy.”

“You once didn’t shower for three days while covered in oil and who knows what else, I don’t want to hear it from you,” Tim said.

“But I brushed my teeth before bed,” Gaige said.

“Okay, mom, stick me in time out while you’re at it. Oh, wait.” He gestured to the locked door keeping him trapped in here.

“Learn to brush your teeth and you can interact with humanity again,” Gaige said.

“Oi, are you mentally stable enough to be running around hunting down Aurelia?” Zane asked before they could go on any longer.

Tim wasn’t sure. “I am. The sooner this business is done with, the sooner I can get on with my life.”

“Then I’ll talk to Lilith about the whole thing. But make sure you brush your teeth before she comes in here to question you about it,” Zane said.

“Oh, fuck off, both of you,” Tim said, dropping into a chair at the table.

Gaige laughed and Zane left the room. Tim tried to focus on the sound of Gaige’s laughter, trying not to think too hard on what the future would hold. Finding Aurelia was important, and he hated wasting time here.

He had to get moving. He couldn’t rest knowing Handsome Jack was still out there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to updates every Wednesday! I hope you guys are enjoying this story!


	8. Chapter 8

Lilith looked troubled as Zane explained everything to her. She was staring out of the window of the ship, into the vast galaxy before them.

“Do you believe him?” she said at last, turning to face Zane. “Or do you think he has an ulterior motive?”

“I think he really wants to find Aurelia Hammerlock for information, but I think he’s hiding what he’s really after,” Zane said.

“I can’t see anything wrong with letting him help you. We were planning to kill Aurelia anyway, so it’s not like we have to worry about Tim snapping and killing her himself,” she said. “He might run, but even then, it’s not like he’s our prisoner. He’s dangerous right now, but none of our people are his targets.”

“What if the three of us go after her on our own?” Zane offered. “Me, Gaige, and Tim. Then Moze, Fl4k, and Amara can focus on hunting down the COV and finding the vault key.”

“I don’t like having you away from the group,” Lilith said.

“Ah, they can handle themselves,” Zane said. “Fl4k’s got a million little pets to make up for my absence, Moze has her mech, and Amara has like eight arms to punch with. I think they’ll be fine, Lilith. Besides, this way I can keep an eye on ‘im.”

“What if he turns on you? If he leaves the ship, Gaige will give him his watch back. You can’t take down those digi-Jacks. Even if Gaige tries to stop them from hurting you, if Tim tells them to, they have to obey him,” she said.

“I know a thing or two about dig-clone devices, Lilith. You think an unhinged doppelganger and his two clones are the worst thing I’ve ever faced?” Zane scoffed. “I can take care of myself, trust me.”

“Then I leave this decision up to you,” Lilith said. “If you want to go with them, that’s your call.”

“It’ll be a nice break from everyone mocking me driving,” Zane said. “Maybe these two’ll actually have a fun side to them.”

“Teaming you up with Gaige is quite possibly the worst decision ever,” Lilith said, looking like she was already regretting this decision.

Zane beamed a smile at her before leaving the bridge. Honestly, he wanted to see this through. He was curious just what Handsome Jack could’ve left behind that had Tim so unnerved. If it was something serious, he’d have to make sure it got destroyed.

He returned to the room Tim was in and left himself inside. Tim and Gaige had torn a page out of his magazine and were tossing it back and forth to each other.

“Well?” Tim said, catching the paper and looking to Zane.

“Well that was me favorite part of the magazine,” Zane said.

“It’s crumpled into a ball. You can’t even tell what page we tore out,” Gaige out.

“I can tell. I can sense it was me favorite page,” Zane said.

Tim flicked it at Zane’s face. “What did Lilith say?”

He was trying to act casual, but Zane could see how anxious he was. Zane tossed the balled-up magazine page back to him.

“Looks like the three of us are going on a road trip,” Zane said.

“Gaige is NOT driving,” Tim said.

Gaige glared at him. “You crash the car one damn time and you never live it down.”

“Gaige, you drove it off a cliff and crashed it into two trees so hard we were both ejected and it exploded,” Tim said.

“We had health kits, we were fine,” Gaige said dismissively. “Besides, it was less than a mile to the nearest Catch-A-Ride.”

“I can already tell this was a bad suggestion,” Tim groaned. “I’m going to die. I survived Elpis, a freaking vault monster, and several years living with Handsome Jack, just so I could die in a car crash. My stupid ass life.”

“Drama queen,” Gaige and Zane said simultaneously.

Tim stared at them for a moment before closing his eyes. “Still better than Claptrap, still better than Claptrap, still better than Claptrap.”

“Rest up, boyo. We get cracking in the morning,” Zane said. “And try not to claw your own throat out this time.”

“I’ll stay in the room with him,” Gaige said. “You go get some sleep too, grandpa. Don’t need your frail bones in danger.”

“My frail bones will be saving your arses,” Zane said, heading for the door. Gaige followed him, catching him by the jacket.

“Hey, better feed us well tomorrow,” Gaige said. “And give us our weapons back.”

“Sure, sure,” Zane said, leaving the room.

He touched the pocket of his jacket, and felt the watch resting in there. He returned to his own room, collapsing onto his bed. This was going to be one hell of a journey.

***

Zane opened the door to Tim’s temporary room. Tim was awake, but Gaige was fast asleep on the bed.

“Well, let’s get cracking,” Zane said.

Tim stood up and shook Gaige’s shoulder. “Hey, wake up. Some dementia patient wandered into our room.”

“Shoot him and let me sleep,” Gaige grunted, swatting at Tim’s hand.

“Shoot him with what? My ass? I don’t have a gun,” Tim said.

“I don’t know, punch him really hard. He’s like a thousand years old, he’ll probably die,” Gaige said.

Tim stuck his hands under her arms and lifted her into a sitting position. “If I have to deal with this, so do you.”

“Timothy Lawrence, I will kill you,” Gaige snarled.

“If you don’t go through with it, I’m going to be pissed,” he said.

“Go brush your teeth,” Gaige said, shooing Tim away and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “And don’t take a cryo shower this time.”

“Yes, mom,” Tim said.

“You’re also like a thousand!” Gaige said, shoving at him. “I’m still youthful, don’t imply I’m older than you.”

“Can I trust you not to go back to sleep?” Zane asked.

“Nope,” Gaige said, lying back down, rolling away from them, and yanking the covers over her head.

Zane went over, slipped the watch into her hand, and snatched away all the blankets. “Rise and shine!”

“This team already isn’t going to work,” Gaige said, squinting up at him and stuffing the watch in her pocket. “I hate morning people.”

“Whatever. Get up and get ready,” Tim said, heading for the door.

Zane followed him and led him to the bathroom. Tim went inside and Zane waited outside as the shower ran.

Tim was much quicker this time, coming out in clean clothes. He gestured to his mouth.

“Well cleaned,” he said. “Best breath in the galaxy.”

“Keep it that way. If you can’t keep ‘em clean, you don’t deserve ‘em. I’m very good at punching teeth out,” Zane said.

“So do we really have to bring the nursing home patient with us?” Tim said as they walked back towards the room to get Gaige.

“Oi, you’re wearing Handsome Jack’s face. For all I know, you’re older than me,” Zane said.

“I was younger than Jack,” Tim said. “And I’m definitely younger than you.”

He looked down at his hands, curling and uncurling his fingers. He dropped them back to his side.

“I guess…that doesn’t matter, though. I guess I just skipped all those years,” he said.

He seemed surprised by that, as if he hadn’t realized his age was just another thing Handsome Jack had stolen from him. Zane had no comfort to offer him though; he couldn’t give Tim lost time back.

They entered the room, where Gaige was already showered, dressed, and waiting for them. Lilith was there too, Gaige’s and Tim’s confiscated belongings in a crate next to her.

“I talked to Wainwright Jakobs about the whole situation. He agreed to let them keep the weapons once I told him Gaige was a Crimson Raider,” she said. “He and Hammerlock want the ECHO logs back, though. I sent the others to get the ones Gaige hid, and took the ones Tim had.” She looked at Zane. “I want updates from you. Especially if you’re pursuing Aurelia to the Jakobs estate. And you can always call in the others for backup, Killer.”

“Got it,” Zane said.

Lilith pushed the crate forward and Gaige and Tim approached. They reequipped themselves, and Gaige handed Tim his watch. Tim seemed beyond relieved, strapping it to his wrist and running his fingers over the band.

“Don’t summon them until we’re off the ship,” Gaige warned him.

“I know, I know. I’m not trusted,” Tim said, and touched the band again.

“Wainwright and Hammerlock want to talk to you before you go after Aurelia,” Lilith said.

“Then let’s get going,” Gaige said.

“Good luck down there,” Lilith said. She smiled a little. “Good to work with you again, Gaige.”

“Hell yea, Commander!” Gaige said.

“I’m just surprised Axton isn’t around,” Lilith said.

“Oh, he would be. But Tim only wanted me to help him. If I called Axton, he’d be on this ship in two minutes,” Gaige said. “He loves any excuse to use his turret in a fight. You know him.”

“Catch up later. I’m sick of sittin’ around on the ship,” Zane said, eager to be back in action and fighting.

“Amen to that,” Tim grumbled.

They followed Zane to the fast travel station. Zane saluted Lilith before the three of them were whisked away to Eden-6.

As soon as they landed, Tim swiped at his watch. Blue and Jay surged forth, looking relieved to see Tim up and well.

Tim quickly filled them in on everything. Zane was still fascinated by their AI. There was something about them that wasn’t quite human in their programming, but their attentiveness to Tim made him wonder if that was part of their programming or if they just actually liked the asshole that much.

“So now we’re…teaming up with the guy who beat you in the head with a gun?” Blue said.

“Are you surprised?” Tim said. “I worked for a guy who blasted me at Elpis in a moonshot cannon.”

“You’ll do literally anything for money, so that didn’t surprise any of us,” Jay said.

“That’s…yea, actually, that’s pretty fair,” Tim said.

“We’ll be pretty tough to stop, since half our team can’t be hurt,” Zane said, gesturing to his digi-clone device.

“He makes a good point,” Jay said.

“I always do,” Zane said. “Another good point is that we should get going to Wainwright’s. We could just fast travel there, you know.”

“I need time to figure out how I’m going to explain robbing him,” Tim said. “Let’s just drive there.” He looked to his digi-Jacks. “Uh…probably best if you two aren’t there when we talk to him.”

“You know where we’ll be if you need us,” Jay said, and the two disappeared with a flicker of light.

Zane digistructed them a vehicle and they all got in. He drove them as close as he could to Wainwright’s before they had to get out and walk the rest of the way. Tim didn’t speak, though Gaige was eagerly pointing out all the greenery.

“Been on Pandora a while?” Zane guessed.

Gaige nodded. “I’ve been on Eden-6 with Tim for a few weeks, but it’s still refreshing to actually see some color in the world. I’m not from Pandora.”

“Aye, it’s not much for scenery,” Zane said.

They approached Wainwright’s, and Zane glanced at Tim. He looked uneasy, but not particularly violent. He kept rubbing his fingers on the band of his watch.

The three entered, and Wainwright looked up at them. “These are the scoundrels who robbed me?”

“That’s us,” Gaige said. “Hey, Hammerlock.”

“Gaige, why didn’t you just contact us for help?” Hammerlock asked.

“Uh…because Tim looks like the former psychopathic dictator of Pandora?” Gaige said, gesturing to Tim’s scarred face. “Most people aren’t very eager to help him.”

“Why are you after the harpy?” Wainwright asked.

“The…” Tim shook his head. “Are you referring to Aurelia?”

“I am,” Wainwright said.

Tim stared at him for a moment before laughing. “You really call her the freaking harpy. I respect that.”

Gaige elbowed him roughly. “Tim, he looks like he’s going to shoot you if you don’t answer his question.”

“Right, right,” Tim said, pushing her arm away from him. “She and I were hired vault hunters for Jack. Well, uh, I actually just worked for him and somehow became a vault hunter. But, anyways, I needed information from her. Then you can kill her, or lock her up, or light her money on fire right before her horrified eyes. I don’t really care.”

“You worked with Aurelia?” Hammerlock asked.

“Unfortunately,” Tim said.

“The more important question here, is what information do you need from her?” Wainwright asked, looking suspicious.

“Nothing to do with your vault. I already told them; I took the information on the vault’s location to help me find her,” Tim said. “It’s information from our days on Elpis.”

Wainwright lifted the shotgun at his side and pointed it at Tim. Tim didn’t even flinch.

“Hey,” Gaige said, her voice sharp. “We gave back what we took, we cleared it up, and we’re going on our way now.”

“If you think this is the first time some crazy ass old man has pointed a gun at me this week, grandpa beat you too it,” Tim said, gesturing at Zane.

“I don’t trust him,” Wainwright said, risking a quick glance at Zane before settling his gaze back on Tim.

“Well, that makes two of us,” Zane said. “But Lilith trusts Gaige, and Gaige trusts Tim, and so here we are.”

“How do we know he’s not really after the vault? He could still be working for Hyperion,” Wainwright said.

Tim scoffed. “I hated Hyperion. Everyone was always trying to kill everyone else. Plus, they did this weird thing where they’d finger-gun each other and pretend to have shootouts. They were grown-ass adults doing that. Imagine trying to eat your lunch and a bunch of professional adults just start dramatically finger-gunning at each other.”

“Son, this here isn’t a finger gun,” Wainwright warned.

“I’ve been shot before,” Tim said dismissively. “Not that it’s pleasant, exactly. So I’d prefer it if you didn’t shoot me.”

“I’d also prefer it, because Lilith will be pissed at me if I let either of them die,” Zane said.

“No one is dying,” Gaige said, shoving the shotgun away from Tim and stepping in front of him, putting herself between Tim and Wainwright. Tim seemed surprise by that.

Zane found that interesting. So, a gun pointed at him didn’t bother him, but someone defending him caught him off guard?

“Tim looks like Jack. Tim worked for Jack. Tim was also beaten and poisoned by Jack the last time he saw him,” Gaige said. “I’m a Crimson Raider. If you don’t trust Tim, then trust me. What we’re after doesn’t involve the vault, the COV, or anything you’re after or trying to protect. We want information from Aurelia, and then she’s all yours.”

“Rob me again, boy, and you’ll learn the power of a Jakobs gun,” Wainwright said, but lowered his shotgun.

“Alrighty, that went well,” Zane said. “Now, Aurelia contacted us, wanted to pay us to leave Eden-6. We know she’s at Jakobs’ Estate, and we know she’s likely looking to ambush us.”

“She shouldn’t know I’m looking for her,” Tim said. “Honestly, she should think I’m dead. Or, probably, she hasn’t thought about me at all since Elpis.”

“Well, she’ll know soon enough, boyo. I say our best bet is heading to the estate. She’ll be keeping an eye on things, and the second we head to that estate, she’ll know you’re still alive and…not well, exactly, but alive.”

“She knows about them,” Tim said, tapping his watch. “If she knows I’m with them, she could plan a way to counter them.”

“Not much to do to counter them,” Zane said.

“Unless she freezes my wrist so I can’t even touch the watch,” Tim said. “But I guess that’s a bridge I’ll cross when I come to it.”

“So, what are we waiting for? Let’s head to this estate and kick some ass,” Gaige said.

Wainwright was still watching Tim, though. “One more question. You were armed with the guns you stole when we found you. Why didn’t you shoot at us?”

“Because I wasn’t trying to kill anyone,” Tim said.

Wainwright didn’t quite look like he believed that, but he didn’t press the matter. Zane figured that was a good sign to leave.

“Let’s head out,” he said.

Tim seemed all too eager to leave that place, following Zane outside after Zane called out his goodbyes to Wainwright and Hammerlock. Once they were outside, Tim began rubbing at the band of his watch again.

“That could’ve gone better, but it also could’ve gone worse,” Gaige said, stretching and turning her face up towards the sunlight. “So, what’s our plan?”

“Plan?” Zane said, furrowing his brow. “Are we supposed to have a plan?”

“Uh…probably?” Gaige said. “I don’t know. Axton and I were never good at planning. Or Krieg. Or Salvador. Man, I can’t believe we took Handsome Jack down when Maya and Zer0 were the only ones who didn’t go charging head-first at armed lunatics with absolutely no contingency plan for when things inevitably went wrong.”

“Like when you tried to find a pocket watch double and instead found the surgically altered double who would’ve killed you if he hadn’t hesitated?” Tim said.

“Kind of like that, yea,” Gaige said with a nod.

“Let’s just head to the estate and see what happens?” Zane suggested.

“Works for me,” Gaige said.

“Yea, sure. My whole life is just full of bad decisions, so what’s one more?” Tim said.

“Well, then let’s head to the estate, shall we?” Zane said.

“Hell yea! And I even get to keep that nice ass shotgun,” Gaige said.

“You’re welcome for stealing it,” Tim said.

“What a guy,” Gaige said, slapping him on the shoulder good-naturedly. “Let’s get going. I’m ready for a fight or two or ten.”

“Then it’s settled! Let’s get going!” Zane said, also eager for a fight.

So the three started making their way towards the estate. Zane had no clue what they were in for, but he figured it’d be a shitshow that involved a lot of gunfire and violence, so he whistled cheerfully as they walked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll hopefully have more time to write with the holidays coming up, I've been dragging my feet a bit on working on this, but I'm going to try and get more done for it :D


	9. Chapter 9

Running into a jabber nest and a rather large band of COV slowed their progress enough that it was late when they reached the area that led to the manor. There were bags under Tim’s eyes, even as he insisted that they keep pushing forward.

It was Gaige who finally grabbed his arm and stopped him. “We need to rest, Tim.”

“We need to keep moving,” Tim argued.

But Gaige stood firm. “No. We’re all tired. I know you didn’t sleep last night. We’re useless if we can’t focus in a fight. So, we’re resting.”

Tim opened his mouth to keep fighting, but reluctantly shut it when Gaige glared at him. Zane also had no intention of messing with someone like that, so he looked around for a place to settle for the night.

They searched until they found a large tree, the roots providing them cover and shelter if it started to rain. They set up their sleeping bags, but Zane climbed up onto one of the roots and sat down.

“Zane?” Gaige said in confusion.

“You two sleep. I’ll keep an eye out,” Zane said.

“Wake one of us in two hours. We’ll sleep in shifts,” Gaige said, lying down on her sleeping bag.

Zane was feeling perfectly fine, and probably wouldn’t bother waking either of them. Besides, he didn’t exactly trust Tim to keep guard in his current mental state.

Zane relaxed back on the root, vigilant but as comfortable as he could be. Gaige and Tim were whispering below, Gaige occasionally laughing and trying to muffle it with her arm. Finally, their chatter died down and Zane looked to see that both of them had closed their eyes.

The night was filled with the sounds of leaves rustling in the wind, and creatures making all kinds of noises as they moved about. Zane let his eyes scan over the area, and his mind slipped away to wondering if it would be possible to sneak their way to Aurelia so she wouldn’t be expecting Tim and Gaige to be with him.

He stole a glance at Tim and Gaige, partially surprised that Tim was actually asleep. He was shifting restlessly again, whimpering and moaning. Zane figured he shouldn’t let it get as bad as last time.

But before he could get up and go wake Tim, movement caught his eye. He unholstered his gun, carefully scanning the area. Tim’s noises of distress were growing louder, but Zane tuned them out as he aimed his gun.

A young jabber bounded out from behind another tree, oblivious to them as it went on its way in the opposite direction. Zane relaxed and holstered his gun.

And then Tim started screaming.

The jabber, spooked, ran off. Zane sighed and climbed down from the root as Tim thrashed.

“Shit,” Gaige said, startling awake and scrambling away from Tim, reaching for her gun. When she realized it was just Tim having another nightmare, she groaned. “Fucking hell, Tim. I was having this awesome dream.”

Tim continued screaming, thrashing violently and clawing at his neck. “Stop, Jack, stop!” he cried.

“Okay, okay, enough,” Gaige said, reaching for him carefully.

Tim’s struggle grew as Gaige’s hand touched his arm, and he jerked away from her. But her fingers caught his watch, and red and blue light burst from it.

“His heartrate is soaring,” Blue said, moving in close to Tim. “Timothy, wake up. Wake up.”

He tried to solidify himself and shake Tim awake, but Tim just screamed even louder. He was digging his fingers into the skin of his throat, a sob bursting from his mouth.

“You sent me, you sent me,” he pleaded.

“Tim, it’s a bad dream!” Jay said, also getting in close.

Zane took a step forward, but Gaige threw her hand out to stop him. “Don’t,” she said. “He gets so disoriented, he could really hurt you. Let them wake him up.”

Zane watched as Blue gripped Tim’s arms and pried his hands away from his throat. Tim gasped for air. Jay took hold of Tim’s shoulders and shook him.

“Timothy, wake up,” he said. “It’s okay. Jack is dead. You’re safe.”

Tim’s eyes finally opened, and he yelled in fear, trying desperately to yank his arms free. “Jack, please, it was the Siren, I didn’t know, you didn’t warn me,” he cried.

“Tim,” Jay said, keeping hold of his shoulders and speaking calmly. “It’s not Jack. It’s me, Jay. Jay and Blue. Remember?”

Tim was shaking violently, in the grips of another panic attack. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly, shrinking away.

“I’m sorry, Jack,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“Jack is gone,” Jay said. “He’s gone, Timothy. There is no more Handsome Jack. We’re your friends. You’re safe. No one here is going to hurt you.”

It was a few tense minutes before Tim stopped trying to pull his arms away. His body still trembled, but Gaige moved towards him now.

“Tim, it’s me,” she said, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched.

“We’ve stayed solid too long,” Blue said, slowly releasing Tim’s arms. “We can’t stay much longer, Gaige.”

“I know,” Gaige said. “I’ve got him. Go recharge, and I’ll summon you if anything else happens.”

“We’re here if you need us, Tim,” Jay said.

“Maybe we’re not the best sight for him, Jay. Let’s go for now,” Blue said.

The two disappeared with a flash of light. Gaige sat next to Tim, her hand still on his shoulder.

“Hey,” she said. “You woke me up. Asshole.”

“You were probably dreaming about robots, or shirtless older men,” Tim mumbled without opening his eyes.

“Or shirtless older men letting me show them robots,” Gaige said. “You suck, Timothy Lawrence.”

Tim finally opened his eyes, staring down at his bloodied nails. “You sound like my mom. The part about me sucking, not the part about showing shirtless older men robots.”

“Women just think you suck, I guess,” Gaige said.

“You, my mom, Nisha, Aurelia…okay, yea, seeing a pattern here,” Tim said.

Zane grabbed a health kit from his bag and tossed it to Gaige, who caught it and held it out to Tim. Tim touched his throat, where some of the wounds were lightly bleeding.

He took the health kit and injected himself with it. He wiped the blood off his hands and rubbed at his eyes.

“Guess it’s my turn for watch,” he said at last. “Just like to keep you all on your toes.”

“Got a set of lungs on you, that’s for sure,” Zane said. “But I think you’ll understand if I don’t trust you to watch us right now.”

“Then I’ll keep watch. You get some sleep, Zane,” Gaige said.

“Nah, I’m feeling wide awake after that. Go back to your dreams about shirtless older robots, or whatever it was,” Zane said.

Gaige flipped him off and urged Tim back onto his sleeping bag. “Get some sleep, Tim. And if you wake me up again, I’ll give you a reason to scream in terror.”

Tim laid back down, and Gaige got back in her own sleeping bag. Zane climbed back up onto the root he’d perched on before.

Silence fell over them again as Zane carefully scanned the area, worried Tim’s screaming might have attracted creatures or nearby COV. But there was no movement around them, and after a while, Zane relaxed back on the root.

He finally looked back down at the other two. Gaige was asleep again, but Tim was awake. He was clutching his ECHO to his ear, and Zane watched him curiously.

Tim’s eyes were squeezed shut, his hands trembling lightly as he held the ECHO. He opened his eyes and pressed something on the ECHO, closing his eyes again. Zane watched him do it, over and over.

He was listening to something, that was for sure. As it grew later into the night, Zane kept stealing glances to see that Tim was still listening.

Finally, though, Tim fell back to sleep, the ECHO tumbling from his hands. Zane waited another twenty minutes before climbing down from the root and picking up Tim’s ECHO. He moved himself to the back of the tree, out of sight of Tim and Gaige, and looked at the ECHO screen.

Two logs were showing, whatever Tim had been listening to all night. The volume was so low that Zane had to press the ECHO to his ear to hear it, but he started the first log and held the ECHO close.

“We should go, Jack,” Tim said. Zane could tell by the tone that it was Tim. “Something doesn’t feel right.”

“Lighten up and have a drink, Timmy. Nisha will be back soon,” Handsome Jack said. “I swear, Lynchwood has a special breed of stupid. What bandit robs their own bank? Freaking idiots.”

There was the sound of ice clinking in a glass, and a drink being poured. Footsteps, and a floorboard creaking.

“Here,” Jack said. “Drink up. And wipe that look off your face. We’re not even staying long.”

“I just have a bad feeling,” Tim said. “It shouldn’t have taken Nisha this long to come back.”

“She likes to take her time killing them. You know how she is,” Jack said.

“Yea, but- JACK, GET DOWN!”

There was a crashing noise, the sound of glass breaking, and a gunshot. Either Tim or Jack cried out in pain.

“Fuck!” one of them cried. “Fuck, shit.” The sound of scuffling. “Defend us, dammit!”

“Yes, sir.” One of the digi-Jacks. The sound of them firing on the assailant.

“Nisha, get back here, now!” Jack snapped. “Shit. Tim? Tim!”

Tim groaned, and hissed in pain. “Ow, dammit. Don’t touch me!”

“Well, I’m not letting you bleed to freaking death,” Jack said. “Suck it up. You need pressure on the wound.” Tim whimpered. “Alright, the digi-Jacks have us covered, and Nisha is on her way. You just need to…Tim?” Jack’s voice was sharp now. “Tim, open your eyes. Son of a taint! Open your freaking eyes!”

Silence for a moment. Jack cursing under his breath.

“You’re not dying. You are NOT dying,” Jack said. “Not today, kiddo.”

More gunshots, Tim whimpering, and Jack reassuring him that he was going to be fine. Zane could hear a woman’s voice in the background, and the log cut off.

Zane played the next one.

“Jack?” It was Tim’s voice, weak.

“You slept forever,” Jack said. “You’re welcome for saving your life, by the way.”

“What happened?” Tim asked.

“A bandit got word Handsome Jack was in the mayor’s place. He was trying to kill us. Your digi-Jacks subdued him, and Nisha came and captured him. I was busy trying to keep your blood in your freaking body. We got your gunshot wound wrapped, and brought you back to Helios,” Jack said.

“Shit. I get first shot at the guy,” Tim said.

“When you can actually move around again, sure. We saved him for you. I was pretty pissed about the whole thing, so I can’t exactly say he’s whole, but he’s still alive,” Jack said. His voice darkened. “You almost died, Timmy.”

“I didn’t exactly get a say in the matter, Jack,” Tim said.

“I saved you,” Jack said, and let it sink in for a moment before repeating it. “I saved your life. You’re not dying on me. We’ve got a lot of work to do, kiddo. The doctor said you’ll be good to go in two days. Here, we never did get to have that drink.”

“Sure, Jack,” Tim said, his voice quiet. “Yea, thanks for saving my ass. God, what a shitty day. Pour me a little extra.”

“Amen to that,” Jack said.

As the sound of a drink being poured reached Zane, the log ended. Zane stared down at the ECHO in his hands.

Of all the things Tim could’ve listened to until he fell asleep, he picked these two logs.

Zane crept back around and placed the ECHO where he’d found it, climbing back onto the root. His mind replayed the logs, and Tim’s reaction during the two nightmares Zane had witnessed.

Zane looked down to where Tim laid. He was shifting restlessly again, but he wasn’t making noises this time. He was mumbling in his sleep occasionally, but Zane couldn’t catch the words.

Zane tried to piece it all together. Tim calls Gaige in for help with something, but doesn’t tell her what. They steal logs to help them find Aurelia, and that have information on the Eden-6 vault despite Tim saying he was done vault hunting. Tim lies about the reason he took the logs, and eventually admits there’s sensitive information that Aurelia might be able to help him track down. He suffers from violent nightmares and equally violent mood swings, slipping into a Handsome Jack façade for protection. He becomes so disoriented during his nightmares that he thinks Handsome Jack is choking him. And now he was listening to a log of him saving Handsome Jack, and Handsome Jack in turn saving him.

Everything led Zane to believe that there was still a piece of Handsome Jack out there in the galaxy. And that Tim was terrified of that piece of Jack finding him.

There were a lot of reasons Tim could be afraid. He’d betrayed Jack and sided with the Crimson Raiders. He’d shed Jack’s name for his own. He’d suffered Jack’s cruelty for years.

Zane crossed his arms and leaned back. There was so much he didn’t know about this whole situation. Too many holes he couldn’t quite fill in. Tim’s attachment to his AIs made Zane think the piece of Jack still remaining was digital, maybe an AI or some type of advanced virus.

He’d have to keep a close eye on Tim as they journeyed along. Tim clearly wasn’t willing to admit what he was really after, for whatever reason. Zane hoped it was fear holding his tongue, and not loyalty.

Based on that log, Jack carefully manipulated Tim into believing Jack was his savior. Handsome Jack’s psychological influence would be hard to escape, even after he’d been dead for so many years.

Zane sighed and settled in for a long night of thinking and watching. Gaige sure was right when she said Tim was a pain in the ass.

It was only a few hours before Tim woke with a start, gasping for breath and covering his throat protectively. When he got his bearings and realized where he was, he slowly lowered his hands from his throat, rubbing at the band of his watch instead.

“Morning,” Zane greeted. “Lot less quiet wake up this time.”

Tim rubbed at his eyes. “Weren’t you supposed to wake someone to watch?”

“Wasn’t tired,” Zane said.

Tim pulled himself from his sleeping bag and climbed up onto a root near Zane’s. He tried to fix his hair with his hands, but it still looked like a mess.

“’Handsome’ was the biggest lie Jack ever told,” Zane said when Tim abandoned his attempts with his hair.

“More handsome than whatever the hell I looked like before,” Tim said. “Just…the high maintenance hair. Everything about Jack has to be high freaking maintenance.”

“And what’d you look like before?” Zane asked.

“I…had freckles,” Tim said.

Zane waited a moment, but that seemed to be all Tim could recall of his old appearance. No wonder he could never fully escape; he had no other person to escape to.

Tim turned the conversation on Zane, looking frustrated with his own lack of memory. “So, how long have you been vault hunting?”

“Oh, not that long. Picked it up as a retirement gig,” Zane said.

“Vault hunting? For retirement?” Tim said in disbelief.

“Sure. Hard to get peace and quiet when a bunch of folks are trying to off ya, so I picked up vault hunting instead of letting my guard down retiring to some nice beachside,” Zane said.

“Hardcore grandpa,” Tim said, shaking his head. “You people are all crazy, I swear. Who wants to willingly do this shit?”

“It’s fun! I get to fight alien creatures,” Zane said. “And those vault monsters! A good workout for sure.”

“Jack, he was obsessed with those vaults. They were the keys to his dreams,” Tim said, looking away from Zane and watching the scenery in the distance. “He was going to use them to rule Pandora. Hell, maybe the whole galaxy.”

“Would you have ruled with him?” Zane asked.

Tim was quiet for a few moments before finally answering. “Yea. Yea, I would’ve ruled with him.” He gave a bitter smile. “But then he sent me to Opportunity to kill the vault hunters. And I helped them kill him instead.”

“And now here you are, still dreaming of him,” Zane said.

“He’s got a way of lingering,” Tim said.

“Guess so,” Zane said.

Tim leaned back against the tree, rubbing the band of his watch. He didn’t say anything else, and Zane didn’t press him for more.

The two settled into silence and just watched the world come awake around them. There was nothing to do but wait for Gaige to wake up, and head towards the inevitable battle with Aurelia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got back to writing some more for this :D Hope you guys are liking it so far!


	10. Chapter 10

“You sleep forever,” Tim said as they heard Gaige groan below them.

“Fuck you, Timothy,” Gaige said. “I wouldn’t be so tired if you didn’t decide to scream in the middle of the night.”

“Oh, sorry, I’ll be quieter next time,” Tim said.

“You better be.” Gaige sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking up at them and squinting in the sunlight. “Hey, weren’t we supposed to switch shifts so Zane could sleep?”

“Wide awake, lass,” Zane said.

“Let’s get moving,” Tim said, dropping off the root.

“Can we eat first?” Gaige said. “God, you’re so impatient. I’m not killing anything until I’ve eaten.”

Zane jumped down next to them. “I’m with her. Could go for some food.”

“Fine, yea, basic survival needs,” Tim said, sitting next to Gaige. He noticed his abandoned ECHO and grabbed it, clearing the screen and clipping it to his waist. He grabbed his bag and flipped it open, digging around for something to eat.

Zane grabbed his own bag. The three of them found food and ate in content silence. Gaige was looking out around the land, and Tim was just staring at his watch as he ate.

When they finished eating, they grabbed their stuff and got up. Zane stretched, feeling wide awake despite the sleepless night.

“We’ll likely run into COV resistance,” Zane said. “I thought it over last night. If we kill all the COV before they can report back to Aurelia, there’s a chance she’ll think it’s me and the other vault hunters, not you two.”

“So we just can’t miss any,” Gaige said. “Sounds easy enough. Those idiots were born to die.”

Zane wondered how easy it would actually be, though. Tim and Gaige were probably in sync in a fight, but Zane didn’t know how they fought. He preferred to control the battlefield with his gadgets, but it might be hard to do with the two of them thrown into the mix. He’d adjusted to fighting alongside the other vault hunters, but now he had two new companions, and one of those companions came with independent digi-Jacks.

But there was no way to figure out how much of a shitshow it would be without just jumping into it. Zane started walking, and Tim and Gaige followed after him.

“What do you know about Aurelia?” Tim asked.

“Not much. Just that she thinks vault hunters are whores who are quick to sell their loyalty to the highest bidder,” Zane said.

“Wow, she’s still getting digs in at me after all this time,” Tim grumbled.

“The whore part or the loyalty part?” Zane said. “Hard to tell with you, Mr. Tames Pandora.”

“Oh, shut it. Look, I might have helped Tassiter try to get blackmail on Jack because…well, because he offered me a lot of money and my own face,” Tim said. “In my defense, Jack sucked.”

“That’s a fair defense,” Zane said.

Zane held out a hand to stop them, and gestured up ahead. A gathering of COV were going about their business, but they were armed and ready for any intruders.

Gaige pulled out her shotgun, and Tim digistructed a sniper rifle. Zane grabbed his pistol and looked around, pointing to a high-up spot for Tim to snipe from. Tim nodded and climbed his way up. When he was in position, Zane and Gaige crept forward.

Tim’s first two shots took them by surprise. Two COV fell to the ground, clean headshots taking them out. The other COV began yelling for backup and ducking behind cover.

Zane and Gaige rushed in, Gaige taking out a nearby COV with a few blasts from her shotgun. She summoned Deathtrap, who took off at the nearest enemy.

Zane fired off some shots, taking stock of the battlefield. They were well out-numbered, but Tim was still picking them off from his perch.

It wasn’t as chaotic as Zane had been expecting. Gaige preferred her shotgun, which meant she fought at fairly close-range. It left Zane plenty of room to control the battlefield, sending out his SNTNL to damage enemies and scatter them from their cover. That allowed Gaige and Tim to pick them off, while Zane drew their attention and covered himself with his shield.

But then one of the COV grew a brain cell and crept around to Tim’s perch, catching him off guard and nearly taking out his shield by pumping shotgun blast after shotgun blast into it. Tim tried to scramble away, and the COV threw herself at him, both of them falling from the perch.

Tim hit the ground hard, but rolled and got right back up, switching to his pistol and firing all four shots into the COV, shattering her shield. He reloaded his gun and swiftly finished her off, grabbing his sniper rifle from the ground and packing it back away.

“Looked like a tough fall!” Zane called as he fired on two advancing COV.

“Would’ve broken your old bones,” Tim said, moving forward for cover and shooting at the COV coming after him. “Some of us are still young enough to take a fall.”

“Young! From what I hear, you’re not that young anymore, boyo,” Zane said.

“Is this really the damn time?” Tim said in annoyance.

“There’s no better time for a chat!” Zane said, and shot a COV in the chest. “Besides, you’ve already got the gray hairs.”

Tim flicked his fingers on his watch, summoning his digi-Jacks. “Cover my ass while I fight the elderly.”

“Tim, fight the COV first,” Jay said in irritation.

“Hey, gramps,” Tim said.

“Hm?” Zane asked, focusing his shots at two COV trying to take him down together.

“You’re welcome,” Tim said, and headshot a COV Zane hadn’t noticed about to jump down from a tree at him.

The body fell to the ground not far from Zane. “I saw him coming,” Zane lied.

“Sure,” Tim said, and went back to shooting COV.

Tim moved around a fair amount, trying to keep distance between himself and his enemies, and relying on his aim to take out enemies quickly. He didn’t watch his back much- he had his digi-Jacks for that. Zane realized that would be a weakness whenever they weren’t out. Tim seemed too adjusted to fighting alongside them, recalling them when they’d thinned out enemies to recharge before summoning them when more enemies approached.

Gaige seemed to be having an absolute blast as she took out enemies alongside Deathtrap. The two fought at close-range, and Gaige shouted taunts and profanities at her enemies like it was the only way to kill them.

At one point, a badass targeted Tim, probably hoping to take down the source of the digi-Jacks. Zane moved closer and threw down his barrier, protecting himself and Tim from the brunt of the damage and allowing them to fire on the badass with extra force.

“Hey, wow, you’re not totally useless,” Tim said.

“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you,” Zane said. He heard Gaige yelling an explicit threat from somewhere behind them. “She is feckin’ terrifying.”

“We’ve been fighting Eden-6 creatures for a while. She’s just excited to have a real challenge, if you can call this that,” Tim said. “Also, yes, she’s fucking terrifying.”

They cleared the area, and Zane watched as Gaige came back over to them, beaming. She held up her hand, which Tim just stared at. She grabbed his wrist, pulled his hand up, and forced him to high-five her.

“That was fun,” she said. “Reminds me of the good old days fighting idiots on Pandora.”

“We got them all?” Tim asked.

“I’m certain we did,” Jay said. “Tim, we need to recharge fully in case you need us for the next fight.”

“Right, thanks guys,” Tim said, and they disappeared.

“You okay? I saw you fall,” Gaige said.

“Oh, that? I’m fine,” Tim said. “Doing a lot better than the girl who attacked me, at least.”

“Need a health kit?” Gaige asked.

Tim shook his head. “Save them. Aurelia will no doubt put up a fight, just to be a pain in my ass again. Let’s just keep moving.”

He was getting anxious again, rubbing the band of his watch. Zane walked alongside them, the three looting as they went for extra health kits, money, ammo, and whatever nice things they could get their hands on.

They continued on, the humidity of the area causing them to sweat as they walked. They had to kill a few creatures as they progressed, and kept a careful eye out for any COV.

It was a little while longer before they approached another COV encampment. Tim’s sniper rifle reappeared in his hands and he looked through the scope.

“Not as big as the last one,” he said.

“There’s no good place for you to perch,” Gaige said.

“I’ll snipe one or two then switch to my pistol,” Tim said, aiming at one of the unsuspecting COV. “Just be ready to go.”

“Bitch, I’m always ready for a fight,” Gaige said, shotgun already in hand.

“I like this one,” Zane said, grinning and grabbing his pistol.

Tim motioned at them to flank the encampment. They did so, Gaige on one side and Zane on the other, both ready.

Tim’s first shot felled a large enforcer. His second shot took out a psycho, but the others were rushing him. Gaige burst forward, firing on the closest targets. Zane sent his SNTNL into the fray and began firing.

Tim rejoined them with an incendiary SMG in hand. Enough of the COV had run at him that his pistol wouldn’t be enough to drive them back.

A shot rang out, and Zane hissed as his shield shattered. Before he could throw out his barrier, another shot caught him in the shoulder, and he staggered back, summoning his digi-clone.

Before he could do anything else, Tim had slammed into him, the two of them falling to the ground as another shot struck the ground behind them. Zane threw out his barrier to protect them as Tim produced his sniper.

“Longshot bastards,” Tim said, shooting at one of them. They fell to the ground dead, and the other one ducked. “He’ll find a new position. Cover me so I can get to Gaige. She’s exposed.”

Tim jabbed a health kit none too gently into Zane’s shoulder before darting out from cover to go provide backup for Gaige. Zane grunted at the pain in his shoulder, but fired on COV to help Tim reach Gaige.

Sure enough, a shot shattered Gaige’s shield just as Tim reached her. He yanked her behind himself and tried to shoot the longshot again, but they ducked away again.

Tim shielded Gaige with his body as the COV tried to use the opportunity to take her down. He summoned his digi-Jacks, his shields already falling dangerously low from the sudden assault.

Zane summoned his digi-clone, but he realized that Tim wasn’t as helpless as he seemed. Instead, Tim used his digi-Jacks to disperse the crowd, who tried to flank him and Gaige. He used the opportunity to toss down contact grenades, right in plain view of the COV.

They hesitated, not wanting to blow themselves up. They fired from a safe distance instead, which gave Gaige a chance to regenerate her shield. The two made a run for it as the digi-Jacks distracted the COV, the grenades going off moments after Tim and Gaige got a safe distance. Now both out of immediate danger, they began firing on their enemies again.

Tim took risky moves, but he wasn’t careless about it. Zane had to respect that.

They worked their way through the COV, on the lookout for that longshot. The longshot got in a few more surprise attacks before Gaige got frustrated enough to finally charge off on her own and blast the poor sucker to pieces when she finally found him hiding behind a crate.

When the rest of them were dead, they looted the area and sat down to eat some of the food they’d found. Zane stretched and checked his guns as Tim started a fire for them to cook some frozen skag meat they’d found.

“I’m really excited. I hope Aurelia puts up a good fight,” Gaige said, looking way too excited at the thought of fighting Aurelia.

“Hope you brought a sweater,” Tim grumbled.

“Ugh, Tim, don’t go making those lame ‘need a sweater’ jokes again,” Gaige said. “I thought we were past this already.”

“If I ever stop making shitty puns, it’s because I’m dead,” Tim said.

“That’s the spirit,” Zane said.

“You’re pretty good on the battlefield for an old man,” Gaige said.

“I’m an old man with a lot of experience,” Zane said.

“So, uh, you’re a Flynt?” Gaige said.

“That’s me! Handsomest Flynt of the bunch,” Zane said.

“Huh. Anyways…Tim! You look like you need help with that skag meat,” Gaige said.

“No, I got it,” Tim said.

“You need help,” Gaige said, glaring at him.

“No,” Tim said, then noticed her expression and sighed. “What the hell, yea, fine, I need help. Come on.”

Gaige sprang up and hurried to his side. “Don’t let me keep bringing up the Flynts,” she hissed in his ear. “I totally murdered Zane’s brother and nephew and that’ll be really awkward if I let it spill.”

“That’s really not my problem,” Tim said, and grunted when Gaige elbowed him in the gut. “Why are you elbowing me? It’s you who can’t keep your mouth shut!”

“You’re supposed to have my back!” she said.

“I was literally a human shield for you during that fight!” Tim said.

“That’s not what I’m asking of you now though!”

“Well maybe you should learn not to be such a big mouth!”

“Well maybe you should learn not to be such an asshole!”

They glared at each other before Gaige picked up a piece of the skag meat and shoved it into Tim’s hands. “I hunger. Cook.”

“You’re not even being useful. Go sit back down,” he said.

Gaige took his advice and sat back down with Zane. Zane raised an eyebrow.

“You two remind me of me brothers when they would fight,” Zane said.

Oh, god, Gaige swallowed down her response to that and came up with a new one. “Well, we’ve known each other for a while now. He gets on my nerves but he’s still a good guy. He’s like the asshole older brother I never wanted.”

“He cares about you,” Zane said.

“I know,” Gaige said, looking over her shoulder at Tim. He was concentrating on trying to melt the skags enough to be able to get them on sticks to roast. “He lost everything when he signed his life away to Jack. He had no friends or family when we helped him get free. He still barely has anyone.”

“Oi, do you believe his story on why he wants to find Aurelia?” Zane asked. He kept his voice easy, but Gaige seemed like a sharp girl. Surely she had to suspect something was up.

And sure enough, she hesitated just a moment. She opened her mouth to lie, but realized Zane had caught her momentary slip-up, and sighed instead.

“Something’s definitely up. Something involving Handsome Jack,” she said at last. “Tim…He’s Timothy Lawrence now. He is. But I know he struggles. So whatever this is, I want to help him settle it so he can move on from it. Anything involving Jack is bad for him.”

“Did Jack make those digi-Jacks?” Zane asked.

Gaige shrugged. “I don’t know if he made them, but I know he and Tim altered their code heavily. Why?”

“What if Jack hid something in their code?” Zane said. “Could be why he’s so attached to them. They could be the key to whatever he’s after, or they could be in danger from it. Whatever’s happening, it involves his digi-Jacks.”

“Tim severed Jack’s connection to Blue and Jay,” Gaige said. “I watched him do it. Jack was trying to use them to get Tim back, but Tim freed them from Jack.”

“Doesn’t mean Jack didn’t put something in their programming before he lost access,” Zane said. He leaned back and shrugged again. “Just a thought. I’m as clueless as you on this whole thing.”

“Let’s just…get through this. And make sure Tim gets through it,” Gaige said.

“He’ll be gettin’ through it with too-close grenades from what I’ve seen,” Zane said. “Your pal Timmy sure keeps a fella on his toes.”

“Tim has absolutely no sense of self-preservation at times and it’s the actual worst,” Gaige groaned. “The amount of times I’ve had to jab him with health kits so he wouldn’t die from his own attacks is alarming.”

Zane laughed. “That’s the kinda guy I like to fight with! Always keeps it interesting!”

“Too interesting,” Gaige said, but she was trying not to grin.

They fell into talk about some of their more intense fights. Gaige told tales of her times in the Crimson Raiders and some of the battles they’d fought, and Zane told her some of his tales from the jobs he’d pulled over the years.

It was a little bit before Tim trudged over with lightly burnt hands, and well-cooked skag meat. Gaige stuck him with a health kit before he could protest, and set the skag meat down between the three of them.

They dug in, eating until they were comfortably full. They all sat back, content to just sit and digest for the moment.

“We should get moving,” Tim said at last. “Best to get as close as we can before it gets dark.”

They packed up their thing and got moving again. Tim was more on-edge than before, and Zane supposed he should just be grateful that Tim preferred to fidget with his watch instead of his gun. In his current state, Zane didn’t trust Tim not to shoot at anything that surprised him.

They had a few more encounters, but by now they’d all adapted to each other enough to get through them with little incident. Gaige ended up getting cut on the leg by a psycho, but a health kit almost immediately from Tim fixed her right up and sent her on a warpath Zane was glad to stay clear of.

It was dark by the time they reached their destination. The estate loomed large before them, the curtains drawn to hide any lights on inside.

Tim stared up at it, fingers clamping over the band of his watch. He was sweating a little, and Zane wondered if he was always so damn sweaty.

“Ready?” Zane asked.

Tim nodded. “Ready. We’ve killed all the COV, so there’s a chance she doesn’t know we’re here with you.”

“Slim chance, but let’s go have some fun, eh?” Zane said.

Tim took the first steps towards the estate. The other two followed him, all of them on edge for what would come next. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go ;)


	11. Chapter 11

Gaige and Tim stood out of sight as Zane rang the doorbell. A hologram of Aurelia appeared.

“Do come in,” she said, and the doors creaked open as the hologram disappeared.

“This definitely doesn’t seem like a trap or anything,” Tim said.

“Hush up and get your feet movin’,” Zane said, heading through the doors.

The three entered the estate, which was messy and dusty. Gaige ran her fingers over a shelf, making a face at the dust on them and wiping them on her pants.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment! Wait for me in the dining hall and we’ll discuss your payment,” Aurelia said over Zane’s ECHO.

Hearing her voice put Tim on edge again, as he rubbed at the band of his watch and touched his gun where it was holstered. Gaige picked up more dust from the shelf and wiped it on his arm, snickering when he tried to whack her hand away. Well, at least she knew how to distract him.

“Well? Let’s get to the dining hall for whatever trap she has for us,” Zane said.

They searched the entrance carefully for any traps before proceeding up the stairs. The doors to the dining hall were shut, and Zane approached them slowly. He listened hard, but couldn’t hear anything on the other side.

He looked over his shoulder at Gaige and Tim, who both had their guns in hand by now. They nodded to him and readied their weapons.

Zane pushed the doors open. They’d barely started moving before he found himself being suspended in the air, and only when they opened did he come face-to-face with Troy Calypso.

“Oh man, you should see the look on your stupid f-” Troy didn’t get to finish his sentence before Tim and Gaige shot at him.

His shield absorbed their blows, and he flung his arms out, the two of them being suspended as well. Zane heard Tim’s breath hitch behind him, and recalled what they’d told him about using Maya’s powers to dangle him over the edge of Sanctuary.

“You brought some unexpected friends,” Troy said, and his eyes widened. “Whoa, the doppelganger! You actually survived?” He laughed. “Man, that sucks. You really survived that attack just to die here.”

“The doppelganger?” Another hologram of Aurelia was there, and she turned to eye Troy’s current victims. “Ah, the horrendously poor one. I wasn’t aware you were even still alive, not-Jack.”

“My name is Timothy,” Tim said, glaring at her.

“I don’t recall asking.” She turned back to Troy. “Well, you got one of the current headache-inducing vault hunters, one of the former Crimson Raiders, and the doppelganger.”

“Aurelia!” Tim said. “I came here to talk to you. About Elpis.”

“I have no desire to speak to you. I would rather shove money in my ears, because I am rich enough to do that as I wish,” she said. “Please don’t speak in my direction. Your poverty might be contagious.”

“God, I hate this bitch,” Tim groaned. “Aurelia, just hear me out. This is important. I don’t give a shit about the Calypsos or the COV. This is about…” He hesitated. “It’s about something from back then. Something that could affect all of us, even you.”

“Do with them what you will,” Aurelia said, and her hologram disappeared.

“New plan, I get my answers and then I shoot her in the face,” Tim said.

“I’m totally on board with that plan,” Gaige said, but she was staring at Troy. “Why is your prosthetic arm so big? How are you not falling over? You’re disproportionate as hell, dude.”

“I’m more curious about how he’s still alive,” Troy said, eyeing Tim.

“A lot of health kits, a lot of bandages, and a lot of the world wanting me to survive to suffer another day,” Tim said.

Zane took notice of how genuinely surprised Troy looked at Tim being alive. He also took notice of Tim trying to twitch his body enough to touch his watch.

But Tim didn’t need to. A shot rang out, and Troy stumbled back as Wainwright Jakobs yelled something at him. Zane missed what was said; he was busy hitting the ground roughly when Troy dropped them to take off after Wainwright.

“Just how close did they come to killing you?” Zane asked as Wainwright said something over the ECHO about distracting the rat-boy.

“Close,” Gaige said, expression dark.

“I’m fine. I survived,” Tim said. “Survived to be shot at another freaking day. We’ve got company.”

COV were coming out of the other rooms, shooting at the trio. They dove for cover, and Tim swiped his watch to bring forth his digi-Jacks.

“I take it no luck with Aurelia?” Jay said as he fired on their attackers.

“What gave it away?” Tim grumbled, grabbing his pistol.

They shot their way through the room, and once all their enemies were dead, they took a moment to look around. If Wainwright had Troy distracted, they’d have time to find Aurelia, and Zane could keep an eye out for the vault key he and the others needed.

“Oi,” Zane said into his ECHO. “We’re at the Jakobs Estate. Troy’s here, but Wainwright’s got him distracted. We’re going after Aurelia. Now’s a good chance to get the key.”

“A little forewarning next time, Zane,” Amara said in annoyance.

“We’re on our way. Might take us a bit to reach you, but don’t wait up,” Moze said. “And save some for us, will you?” 

“No promises,” Zane said. He looked to his two companions. “Let’s get movin’.”

“You’re after the vault key?” Gaige asked.

“Don’t ask. I don’t want to get involved in their vault hunting shit,” Tim said.

“Aw, come on Tim! You don’t miss fighting cool-ass vault monsters?” Gaige said.

“No. Not in the slightest,” Tim said. “I very much enjoy not fighting cool-ass vault monsters, and when this is all over, I’m retiring back to film.”

“You mean porn?” Zane said.

Tim shrugged. “If you’ve got the body, use it.”

“That’s the spirit!” Zane said.

“You should put Jay and Blue in your next porno,” Gaige said.

“I will program myself out of existence,” Blue said.

“No one wants to see that,” Tim said, pointing at their chins.

“Are you guys forgetting the COV trying to kill you?” Jay said.

“No, but they’re just lining up to die,” Tim said dismissively.

“He’s got a good point,” Zane said. “Back to killing?”

“Oh, hell yea,” Gaige said.

The three proceeded forward, shooting their way through waves of COV as they tried to navigate the estate. Zane figured he could kill two birds with one stone; Aurelia was likely wherever the vault key was. Tim got his answers, Zane got his key, and Aurelia got a bullet between the eyes. A victory for everyone.

But his ideas of an easy victory were cut short when they ran into Troy’s anointed abomination.

“What the actual fuck is that?” Gaige cried as it launched at them.

“Come on Timmy, let’s hunt vault monsters, it’ll be fun, I definitely don’t scream when I fight anything mildly more threatening than a common bandit,” Tim mocked.

“Timothy F. Lawrence, I will shoot you,” Gaige threatened.

“F? What the hell does the F stand for?” Tim asked in confusion.

“Timothy Fuckass Lawrence, you fuckass,” Gaige said, and threw herself out of the way of Billy the anointed.

“Struggling there?” Zane asked, swapping with his clone when Billy ran at him and continuing to fire on their newest enemy at a leisurely pace.

“Oh, that’s cheating!” Gaige said, Tim yanking her out of the way of one of Billy’s attacks.

“Quit arguing with the honorary grandpa and focus!” Tim said, summoning his digi-Jacks. “Blue, Jay, focus on keeping the other COV off us so we can kill whatever the hell this thing is.” 

Zane summoned his SNTNL to help them. Killing this thing was doable, but they’d have to be careful.

As Billy shot another projectile attack their way, Zane threw out his barrier to protect all three of them. Tim used the opportunity to get some headshots with his pistol. Gaige waited until the projectiles had just slammed the barrier before darting around, getting in close to their enemy, and firing away with her shotgun.

When Billy moved to strike her, she ducked away and backed off, moving to the side so Zane and Tim could fire on their distracted enemy.

When he turned his attention back to the two of them, Gaige moved in again, getting in some good damage before being forced to retreat.

It wasn’t a tactic that worked long, though. Billy ran at Zane and Tim, and Zane saw Tim throw something at the ground before the two rolled to the side. Zane was prepared for the explosion when Billy hit the contact grenade, but the force of it still took away some of his shield.

The goliath was furious now, and Tim was the closest to it. Billy prepared for one of his shockwave attacks, but Tim dodged it with surprising agility, firing his pistol, and nearly grinning as Gaige came up behind and opened fire with her shotgun again.

Not wanting the two of them to have all the fun, Zane rejoined the battle. The three of them stood separated this time, always giving at least one or two of them the chance to fire while the goliath was distracted.

It finally let out a howl of rage before slumping to the ground. It hardened into a familiar purple substance.

“Is that Eridium?” Tim asked, reaching out and lightly touching it. He pulled his hand away, and Zane noticed the way it lightly trembled.

“Appears to be,” Zane said, and punched it down to chunks he could pick up.

“The hell is that?” Tim asked in surprise.

“Ancient alien technology that lets me punch ancient alien substances really feckin’ hard,” Zane said, tossing the Eridium in his bag. “Crazy Earl will appreciate this, I’m sure.”

“Ugh, didn’t miss him,” Gaige said.

“Let’s move,” Zane said, leading them to the projection booth.

Tim was searching around the room as Gaige and Zane figured out the puzzle for it. They were triumphant when they completed it, but Gaige frowned as she looked at Tim.

“What?” she asked.

“She’s not here,” he said, rubbing the band of his watch. “I doubt she ever was. This was a waste of time, and now she knows I’m looking for her.”

“A waste of time for you maybe, but the Crimson Raiders need the vault key,” Zane reminded. “Not a loss for me and mine, boyo.”

“I don’t care about your mission,” Tim said sharply.

“You should. If the Calypsos get the vault keys, we’re all in a heap of shite,” Zane said.

“Zane’s right. We’ll find Aurelia, Tim. But this isn’t a loss,” Gaige said. When he didn’t respond, she glared and put her hands on her hips, shooting him a look. “What are you, a toddler?”

“What?” Tim said, glaring at her.

“You’re just sulking because you didn’t get what you want? Don’t sulk. Just move on and keep looking for her,” Gaige said. “Whining and pouting doesn’t find Aurelia for you.”

Zane expected Tim to get angry, but instead, Tim just turned his head away from them. “I’m good at whining and pouting. Expert at sulking. Fuck off and let me do what I’m good at.”

“Zane?” It was Amara’s voice over his ECHO.

“The one and only,” Zane said. “Well, I’m sure someone else in the galaxy is named Zane. But I’m the one and only handsome Zane Flynt.”

“Great, didn’t ask,” Moze cut in. “We’ve just reached the estate.”

“And missed all the action!” Zane said. “We killed a fella and he turned into Eridium. It was a good time. Shame you missed it.”

“He…what? Eridium?” Amara said.

“I do not wish to know,” Fl4k said. “Do you have the key?”

“Working on it now,” Zane said. “Do a sweep of the estate for any COV we missed. Troy was hunting down Wainwright, so he might be lurking about too. I’ll meet you outside when we’re done.”

They left the projection booth and found the newly opened secret room, heading into it. On Wainwright’s instructions, they searched for something record-like.

It was Zane who eventually found the record they were looking for. Prize in hand, they left the cellar and found themselves back outside.

Zane sent his location to the others. He knew they’d have to return to Wainwright and hunt down the vault keys, but he wasn’t quite ready to leave Tim and Gaige. They could hunt down Aurelia in the meantime.

Tim was back to being anxious, and Zane didn’t like the almost terrified look in Tim’s eyes. He was desperate to find Aurelia, and Zane didn’t trust him. Whatever was going on was more urgent than he’d told any of them.

“Hey!”

The others approached them. Moze and Fl4k were staring at Tim, who blatantly ignored them.

“Gaige, Tim,” Zane said by way of introduction, pointing at them. “Fl4k, Moze. Now everybody knows everybody.”

“Did you find the key?” Fl4k asked.

Zane handed them the record. “This is what Wainwright was lookin’ for. Take it to him and it should help you find the key.”

“You’re not coming?” Moze said.

“Not quite yet. We’re lookin’ for Aurelia Hammerlock,” Zane said.

“Go with them. Gaige and I are fine on our own,” Tim said.

“Shit, never thought I’d have to hear that voice again,” Moze said.

“This could be the last time you ever hear it if you people leave us alone,” Tim said. “Just saying.”

Gaige elbowed him. “We could use Zane’s help. We’re capable on our own, but now that Aurelia knows we’re coming, she’ll be prepared. Another fighter can’t hurt.”

Gaige looked to Zane and gave a subtle nod towards Tim. She was worried about his current state, and Zane didn’t blame her. Maybe they were capable of taking on everything Aurelia threw at them when Tim was focused, but he was far from that right now. He was in a bad state, and unwilling to admit it.

“Ah, come on Timmy! I thought we were gettin’ along just fine,” Zane said.

“We weren’t,” Tim said.

“Well now we have a chance to,” Zane said, and Gaige looked grateful. “I’m seeing this through.”

“Fantastic,” Tim said dryly. Zane beamed a smile over at him. Tim scowled. “I’m sure your grandkids there miss you.”

“No,” Moze, Amara, and Fl4k all said simultaneously.

“I do not fear for my safety in the car anymore,” Fl4k said.

“You’re all overdramatic,” Zane said. They gestured him over and the four stood away from Gaige and Tim.

“Be careful,” Amara said, voice low and warning. “I don’t trust him.”

“Ah, he’s not so bad. Horrendously traumatized, but not so bad,” Zane said.

“Just keep your guard up,” Moze said. “ECHO us if you need backup.”

“I’ll be fine,” Zane assured, waving to them and heading back to Tim and Gaige.

“What now?” Gaige asked.

“The vault,” Tim said. “She’ll be wherever the vault is, I’m sure of it.”

“I’ll talk to Wainwright,” Zane said. “Those three’ll be collecting the vault key fragments. As long as we have even one, the Calypsos can’t get in the vault. If we can take down Aurelia before they get the other fragments, it’s one less obstacle.”

“So we get the precise vault location from Wainwright, and then we go and track that bitch down,” Gaige said.

“Sounds like as good a plan as any to me,” Tim said.

“We’ll head to Wainwright’s now, then,” Zane said. “We can sleep there for the night and then head out in the morning.”

With a plan in the place, the three got moving. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh I’m so sorry I forgot it was Wednesday and almost didn’t update! I’m having some issues with my laptop, but I think I should still be able to post next week! But if I don’t, it’s just because of my laptop, not because I forgot again!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting early because I don't think I'll have time to post on Wednesday! Happy holidays!

Tim opened his eyes as the sensation of fast-travel eased. They were standing before Wainwright and Sir Hammerlock, neither of whom seemed particularly pleased to see him.

“Thanks for saving our arses back there,” Zane said. “The others will be here soon with the record. We need the vault location.”

Wainwright seemed caught off-guard by that. “The vault?”

“Aurelia will be there,” Tim said.

“Yes, I believe he’s correct,” Hammerlock said. “To guard it, or to capture them when they try to approach it, I’d assume.”

“His friends will find the vault key fragments, and we’ll take care of Aurelia,” Tim said.

Wainwright was eyeing him suspiciously. Tim let out an impatient sigh.

“I can’t magically open the vault,” Tim said. “I have no part of the key, and I really don’t care enough to get them.” He gestured to his disfigured face. “Vaults aren’t exactly my favorite vacation spot.”

“He can’t do any harm,” Zane said.

Wainwright reluctantly nodded after a moment, and took out his ECHO. “There, I gave you the exact location.”

“Thanks,” Gaige said, trying to peek over Zane’s shoulder at the location on his ECHO.

“As a brother, I ask that you try and speak with Aurelia,” Hammerlock said, surprising Tim. “Her acts may be vile, but she is still family. If this can be resolved without the loss of her life, perhaps you can grant me that.”

Tim had no intention of granting that. He wanted whatever information Aurelia had, and then he wanted her dead so she couldn’t pursue what he was after.

“Sure,” he lied easily. “But she did just ambush us and try to kill us, so no promises on that one, champ.”

Zane let out an overdramatic yawn. “We’re going to rest and head out in the morning.”

“Of course,” Wainwright said, but he shot another suspicious look at Tim.

Tim was used to people not trusting him. He looked like Jack, he sounded like Jack, and he’d worked for Jack for years. He couldn’t blame them, as angry as he could get about it sometimes.

Gaige believed in him becoming a better person, and so she defended him viciously. But the truth was that, regardless of who he became, he could never shed who he’d been. A young man desperate to pay off his student loans, signing his life away. A reluctant doppelganger just trying to stay alive long enough to get his paycheck. A sadistic killer who pulled the trigger without thought.

“Come on,” Gaige said, pushing him forward.

She’d been acting…off. Tim couldn’t place it, but he knew something was bothering her. She was more aggressive than usual when they fought their enemies.

But Tim also knew by now that Gaige would talk when and if she was ready. Sometimes she never told him what was bothering her, and he respected that. He’d gone a long time keeping his biggest traumas internalized, unable and eventually unwilling to share them.

They followed Zane to an empty room. He rolled out his sleeping bag and collapsed onto it.

“I’m finally tired. Don’t go waking me up,” Zane said to Tim.

Tim wished he’d stop having these recurring nightmares. “Just take your hearing aids out, gramps.”

Gaige rolled out her sleeping bag and Tim copied her. He laid down, but he was afraid to sleep here.

If he had a nightmare, it was likely that Wainwright would hear him screaming. He didn’t need that crazy geezer busting in here with a shotgun and a glare.

So instead, he waited until Zane and Gaige were asleep before taking out his ECHO. He made sure the volume was as low as he could get it, and pressed it to his ear.

And he listened. He listened to himself save Jack in Lynchwood, and Jack reassuring him that he was going to be fine. He listened to Jack have a drink with him in medical.

Jack had orchestrated assassination attempts against him. Jack would have Tim shot, stabbed, or poisoned, and then save him. He would keep Tim isolated during his recovery, being the only one to visit him and help him get back on his feet. It was a clever, effective form of manipulation. It led Tim to believe Jack cared about him, that Jack would protect him, that Jack would keep him safe.

The time at Lynchwood had been an actual attempt on Jack’s life.

Tim, made loyal by Jack’s manipulation at that point, had saved him without hesitation. Jack stayed with him during his recovery, and kept him confined to Helios for a while after to keep him safe. Maybe Jack did care about him. But Jack’s form of affection was vicious and violent possessiveness.

Tim wasn’t sure he’d ever recover from Jack’s affection.

Tim played the logs over and over again. He remembered when he was healed enough that Jack took him to the prison on Helios. He and Jack brutally tortured their attacker before Jack let Tim have the honors of killing him. They’d celebrated over the body with a drink and a laugh.

Tim shivered and curled up tighter, gripping the ECHO so tightly that his knuckles turned white. How could he ever hope to escape being that person?

He didn’t want to be Handsome Jack. He’d tried so hard to be someone else, someone new. Not the loser Timothy Lawrence, not the cruel Handsome Jack. But he’d been struggling the whole time, trying to piece together a man inside the body of Pandora’s ruthless dictator.

He couldn’t escape his past. He couldn’t forget it, or he’d unconsciously slip back into it.

So he listened. And he listened. And he listened.

And he fell asleep.

He heard Jack’s voice and sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Jack?”

He could hear his voice, but Jack wasn’t in his room. Tim got out of the bed and searched around for Jack. He called his name a few times, but his words were drowned out by Jack’s, their voices mingling together, indistinguishable.

Tim opened the door to the apartment and found himself standing in Jack’s office. Bodies floated in space outside Jack’s window. They had no faces, just more failures who’d angered Jack.

Jack sat at his desk, and he motioned Tim in. Tim didn’t remember moving closer, but he was suddenly in front of Jack.

“Timmy,” Jack said, shaking his head. “You forgot.”

“Forgot?” Tim asked.

And then Jack was across the desk, standing just before him. “Timothy is dead. There is no Timothy. You’re Handsome Jack, kiddo.”

“I…” Tim wanted to say his name was Timothy. But his mouth wouldn’t cooperate.

Jack put his hands around Tim’s throat, slamming him up against the desk. “I trusted you, and you freaking betrayed me. I sent you to kill them, and you joined them.”

“Jack,” Tim gasped, trying to pry Jack’s hands off his throat, panic rushing through him. “You sent me!”

“You left me!” Jack snarled.

“You sent me!” Tim cried desperately. “The Siren! You didn’t warn me about the Siren!”

“Excuses,” Jack said, squeezing Tim’s throat tighter, digging his fingers in. “I’ll fix you. I’ll always fix you up, Timmy. You can’t leave.”

“Jack, stop,” Tim gasped, trying harder to pry his hands off. “Stop! Jack!”

He looked beyond Jack, out at the floating bodies. One of them was Gaige, dead green eyes locked on Tim, arm outstretched towards him, veins purple from slag injections. Jack shook Tim until Tim’s eyes were back on him, putting more pressure on his throat.

And then Jack flickered, and suddenly he was blue. Jay and Blue appeared on either side of him, but only their colors told them apart. Jay and Blue had the mask on their faces, their eyes devoid of emotion.

“Help me,” Tim pleaded.

“You betrayed us,” all three echoed. “We’ll fix you. We’ll fix you.”

Jack leaned in close, flickering between a blue AI form and his real body. “I’m coming back. And I’ll fix you.”

Tim screamed.

“Tim!”

No, no, no. He wasn’t Tim. He was Jack. He was Jack. He didn’t need to be fixed.

Someone was grabbing his arms, trying to restrain him. Tim fought wildly. He couldn’t bear to be fixed again. Last time, he’d been locked in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve, injected with a poison Jack had his team engineer, led to believe he was being experimented on with slag.

He couldn’t do it again. He couldn’t. He’d break.

“Tim!”

It was Jack’s voice. Tim tried harder to break free, and managed to get his arms away from whoever was restraining him. He stumbled back, reaching for his gun, only for someone to knock it away from him as he pulled it from his holster.

He pictured Gaige’s dead face, and he screamed.

Someone touched his arm, and he swung wildly, missing whoever was there. His arms were both grabbed, and Jack yelled his name again.

“Don’t,” Tim begged, his composure crumbling. “Jack, don’t send me back there. Don’t hurt her. Please.”

He heard more voices, but they were muffled. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. His heart was hammering against his chest, and he squeezed his eyes shut as the world spun before his eyes. It was too hot in here. He forced air into his lungs and choked it back out, falling to his knees.

His arms were still restrained, but he felt a hand on his back. He flinched so hard that he nearly fell over.

Jack was coming. Jack was coming.

Jack was going to fix him.

Jack would kill Gaige, kill Timothy Lawrence, kill everyone.

His throat burned every time he managed to get air in, and his ears were ringing. He curled up on himself, arms held. He pressed his forehead against the floor until it hurt. He dug his nails into his palms until someone forced his fingers away from his bleeding skin.

“Tim?”

Through the ringing and the blackness, a familiar voice broke through the fog of his mind. Tim heaved air again at the sound of it.

“Come on, drama queen,” Gaige said, and he felt a hand on his back again. “It’s me. You’re okay.”

“Gaige, the watch is failing.” It was Jack’s voice.

No, no, that was Blue.

“Zane, grab his arms,” Gaige said. He felt an extra set of hands on each arm before a flash of blue and red light caused him to open his eyes.

“You with us?” Zane asked. “Or are you going to try to claw off your own skin again?”

“Timothy?” Gaige said.

“Yea.” Tim’s voice was weak, choked. He cleared his throat. “Told you to take your hearing aids out, gramps.”

They both released his arms. Tim looked at his bloodied palms, and touched his throat, wincing as he ran his fingers over the bruises and cuts he’d inflicted on himself in his sleep.

Tim stood up and staggered. Gaige caught him and steadied him. She always steadied him.

Tim pictured her dead body floating outside Hyperion.

“I need to go outside,” he said, stumbling towards the door. He caught himself against the wall, and took a deep breath, trying to force his legs to work properly. “Go back to sleep. I’m fine.”

He left the building, aware that people stared at him as he went. He emerged outside and went around to the back, sliding down against the wall of the building.

“Fuck,” he said softly, tipping his head back and letting the breeze blow over his sweat-soaked skin.

He checked his watch. The battery was low, but if they were idle, they should last for a bit. He swiped it.

“Tim,” Blue said as he appeared. “It’s getting worse. You’re dreaming more often, and it’s getting more violent.”

“I can’t exactly help what happens when I sleep,” Tim reminded.

“He’s gone, Tim,” Jay said.

“You know that’s not true. Not really,” Tim said. “None of us are safe from him.”

“We don’t know if he’s still around,” Jay amended. “It’s been years. Anything could’ve happened to it since Nakayama’s been gone.”

“It’s out there. He’s out there,” Tim said, and desperately wished he had a drink. His hands were trembling, and he shoved them in his pockets to hide it. “Leave it to that asshole to haunt me after all this time.”

“Tim,” Blue said, and Tim didn’t like the slow way he said it. “If he is out there…if he gets us…”

“No,” Tim said, cutting Blue off. “I won’t. You can’t ask me to.”

“I’m not asking you to do it. I’m telling you to destroy the watch,” Blue said.

“You don’t give me orders,” Tim said. “That’s not how this works, in case you forgot.”

“If he gets us, we will help him destroy you,” Blue said flatly. “We’ll keep you prisoner, we’ll kill the man you’ve become and whatever else is left that isn’t him. If he gets us, you have to kill us first.”

“I order you back in the watch,” Tim said, because after all this time, Jack was still out there and he was still a coward.

Blue and Jay just bowed their heads and disappeared with a flash of light. Tim rubbed at the band of his watch with his trembling hand.

It was a few minutes before Zane appeared next to him, nearly making him jump. Zane sat down next to him, leaning back against the building and looking up at the sky.

“Nice night,” he said.

“Yea, it’s freaking great,” Tim said.

“It’s not just sensitive information, is it? It’s him. A version of him,” Zane said.

“I don’t know,” Tim lied. “It’s his memories. His intentions. Whatever shape it took, I don’t know.”

He knew exactly what shape it had taken. It took the shape of a man with an unnerving mask and a murderous grin.

“We need you rested for the journey and the fight against Aurelia,” Zane said.

Tim rubbed his neck and glared at Zane. He opened his mouth to protest, but then he realized Zane was right, and he also realized he was too afraid to go to sleep without something keeping the dreams at bay.

“Yea, sure,” he said, dropping his hand from his neck. “Sedate me. Not the whole thing, though. I’ll be out for hours.”

It was a risk, he knew that. If he was sedated, he wouldn’t wake easily. If they were attacked, even if he did wake up, he would be slow and sluggish.

But it also meant no dreams.

Gaige was with him. She wouldn’t let anything happen to him.

He couldn’t stop picturing her dead eyes looking at him.

“Let’s go,” Tim said, pushing himself to his feet.

Zane got up and followed him back inside. Gaige was sitting on her sleeping bag, and she looked up as they entered.

“You good?” Gaige asked.

“Fan-freaking-tastic,” Tim said, sitting on his sleeping bag. “Don’t kill him.”

“Kill him?” Gaige said in confusion. Her eyes widened as she saw Zane stick the needle in Tim’s neck. “Hey!”

Her words muffled as Tim’s vision darkened. He thought someone was grabbing his shoulders, lowering him down. But then he stopped feeling, stopped seeing, stopped hearing.

Everything stopped and Tim finally slept, safe from Jack only in the vast darkness of unawareness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is loving the dlc as much as I am (I haven't had a chance to finish it yet ;-;). With this story, I'm not sure I like the direction it's going later on, so I might slow the updates in a few weeks to rework it. But the dlc sparked an idea for a Tim fic that takes place in the casino when Jack is still alive, if anyone would be interested in me writing that!


	13. Chapter 13

Zane woke up first. He looked over and saw that Tim was still in a deep sleep, and Gaige was passed out next to him.

Zane had only injected him with half the sedative, but it would at least get him some rest. He’d have to stop back on Sanctuary for more sedatives.

Tim had been in absolute panic last night. Zane had been almost certain someone was going to get hurt with how wildly disoriented and terrified Tim had been.

Even now, blood had dried on his neck and fingers. Dark bags were under his eyes, and he looked troubled in his sleep.

Zane got up and left the building. He sat down where he’d found Tim the night before and took out his ECHO, making a call he wasn’t sure would be productive.

“Bro!” Vaughn answered.

“Oi, Vaughn-boyo!” Zane said. “You were a Hyperion number-nerd once, right?”

“Oh yea, back in the day,” Vaughn said. “Before that BANDIT LIIIIFE.”

“Right, right, the bandit life,” Zane said. “You ever hear of Handsome Jack’s doppelganger? A surgically altered one.”

Vaughn’s expression said that he had, indeed, heard of such a person. “Yea, bro, we all heard rumors of him. No one could ever confirm he was real. But they said you couldn’t tell the difference between him and Jack. They were both sadistic and power-hungry. After Handsome Jack died, a lot of people tried to find the rumored doppelganger. No one ever could, though.”

Zane wasn’t surprised that Vaughn still didn’t know about him. Tim did his whole acting career thing, but it was easy to pass it off as just a digistructed disguise, not his actual face.

“Sadistic and power-hungry?” Zane said, deciding to focus on that.

Vaughn nodded. “Oh, yea, rumors said he was just as cruel as Handsome Jack. It was like a local legend that if you saw Jack and his doppelganger together, you would die before the end of the day.”

Zane didn’t doubt that. “But no trace of the fella? Not even a name?”

“Just Handsome Jack and Handsome Jack,” Vaughn said. “Why?”

“Heard a rumor,” Zane said. “You go gettin’ on back to that bandit life now.”

“Hell yea!” Vaughn cried, smacking his fist against his chest and wincing.

Zane cut off the connection. He got up and returned to the room, where Tim was still out but Gaige was awake now.

“How long will he be out for?” she asked, nudging Tim with her toe. “Honestly, I’m tempted to draw on his face. Do you have a marker?”

“Much as I’d love to see that, I unfortunately don’t,” Zane said. “He should be up within the hour. I think.”

“It’s dangerous to sedate him every night,” Gaige said. “If we get attacked, he’ll be at a huge disadvantage, and he’ll drag us down in a fight. Shitty all around.”

“Well, if we don’t sedate him every night, he’ll claw his own bloody face off one of these times,” Zane said.

Gaige looked at the blood on his neck. “Ugh, pain in the ass, I swear.”

“The COV,” Zane said. “How bad off was he when they attacked him?”

Gaige’s expression darkened. “It was when he’d called me to help find Aurelia. When I reached the location he sent me, I thought he was dead. There was so much blood, and he wasn’t moving. There were a lot of dead COV around him. When he was stable enough, I asked him what happened, and he said two COV had left him at the mercy of the others to go report to the twins that he was dead. He said he only survived because he got just enough battery back on the watch for him to summon Blue and Jay before he lost consciousness.” She looked to his sleeping form, her eyes watching his chest rise and fall. “If he hadn’t called me to help him, he would be dead right now.”

“Lad’s like a cat. Got nine on ‘im,” Zane said.

“Yea, well, don’t count on it to carry him through this. He’s got to be down to one or two more close-calls before death finally gets him,” Gaige said.

“You haven’t told him about Maya,” Zane said.

“He’s got enough on his mind. Besides, they weren’t exactly friends. I’m not sure either of them ever forgave the whole dangling him over Pandora incident,” Gaige said, but there was anger in her eyes. “Did she suffer?”

“I didn’t see it,” Zane said. “I was in the vault. When I came out…” He shrugged, but not without apology. “I don’t know if she suffered. But I’ll make sure Troy does.”

“You better,” Gaige said, clenching a fist. Then she closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She opened her eyes and unclenched her fist. “I’m hungry. Let’s eat while we wait for his lazy ass.”

They went off in search of food. Instead, they found Wainwright and Hammerlock.

“That boy was screaming his head off. I thought we were being attacked,” Wainwright said. “I sent someone to see what was happening while I woke Alistair, and she came back and said he was having a nightmare.”

“He has them a lot,” Gaige said. “He’s sleeping now.”

“Ah, sleeping isn’t quite right,” Zane said. “I’m not sure what sedatives Tannis is keeping around, but it’s powerful.”

“Well, anyways, that’s Tim for you. Likes to keep you on your toes,” Gaige said.

“We’re going to eat and head out once he’s up and ready to go,” Zane said.

“That’s probably for the best,” Wainwright said.

“He looks like Handsome Jack, but he’s not actually Handsome Jack,” Gaige said in annoyance.

“He’s planning to kill my boyfriend’s sister,” Wainwright said. “Apologies if I don’t think it’s a good idea to keep him and Alistair in the same place for an extended period of time.”

“Aurelia has made her choices in life, and where they have led her…” Hammerlock sighed. “Not every family can be happy, Winny. As I said to him, I only hope he tries a less homicidal approach.”

Zane wasn’t sure Tim knew how to try a less homicidal approach, but he wasn’t going to aggravate their hosts, so he just excused himself to go find food. Gaige followed him and they managed to get breakfast before returning to the room.

It was another half hour before Tim woke up. He was groggy and disoriented, but not violent or terrified, so the sedatives were definitely an improvement.

It took him a few minutes to get his bearings. When he did, Gaige offered him some food she’d swiped for him, along with a water bottle which he chugged half of immediately.

“Hey, chill out before you make yourself sick,” Gaige said, snatching the water bottle from him.

“I was drugged yet again. Let me flush it out of my system,” Tim said, reaching for the water bottle.

“Eat,” Gaige commanded, smacking his hand away.

“Yea, fine, mom,” he grumbled, helping himself to breakfast.

He finished eating and the three took turns showering and getting ready before heading out. Zane took care of their goodbyes with Wainwright and Hammerlock, not keen on another spat between Tim and Wainwright.

He was relieved when they were out of there and traveling back down the path. Tim had shaken off the sedative, and despite still looking tired, he seemed more rested than he had since Zane had met him.

“So Timmy,” Zane said.

“Don’t call me that,” Tim said.

“So Timmy,” Zane repeated. “You never specified what your plan is if Aurelia doesn’t have the information you’re lookin’ for.”

Tim was silent for a moment before finally speaking. “If she doesn’t know, I’ll go from there.”

“Aurelia is the only one who’d know?” Zane said.

“Wilhelm and Nisha are dead, Claptrap’s goddamn useless, and I’ve already asked Athena. Aurelia is my last lead,” Tim said.

“Solid plan,” Zane said.

“With her resources, I’m sure she knows something,” Tim said confidently.

Zane didn’t think that sounded very promising, so he changed the subject. “Where’d you learn to fight?”

“On Elpis,” Tim said.

Zane raised an eyebrow. “Handsome Jack hired a man who didn’t even know how to fight?”

“I was just supposed to be his body double,” Tim reminded. “I knew how to work a gun, but I wasn’t a fighter. I learned as I went.”

That certainly explained his reliance on the digi-Jacks for combat. He’d learned to fight alongside them.

“I just did a little hunting before. Nothing hardcore, but enough that I knew how to snipe and I knew how to work a pistol,” Tim said. “When the lost legion and scavs are shooting at you, you learn fast.”

“You were also working with an assassin,” Gaige said.

“Yea, Athena kicked my ass into shape when I was slacking,” Tim said.

“And now it’s my job,” Gaige said brightly, and kicked Tim right in the ass.

Tim looked at her miserably. “I hate you. I despise every piece of you.”

“Nah,” Gaige said. “You’re just being a little bitch again.”

“Isn’t he always a little bitch?” Zane said.

“Why didn’t Janey just let us die?” Tim groaned. “Life would be so much better if I didn’t have to endure it.”

“You’re so mopey,” Gaige said. “Hey, tell us the story about going into Claptrap’s mind again! I love hearing how awful that was.”

“Wait, what? Oh, I’ve got to hear this one,” Zane said.

So Tim recounted the tale of going into Claptrap’s mind as they traveled towards the location Wainwright had given them. Zane was starting to understand why Tim hated Claptrap so much. He almost felt bad for the bastard.

Tim finished his horrifying story about the inside of Claptrap’s mind, and Gaige followed it up with a story about the time she and Axton had taken on a camp of bandits in search of seasoning for their dinner. Zane topped it with a story about the time he’d been hired by Maliwan to freeze a woman who’d stolen from them, thaw her out, and then hit her with every element to test their combined effects.

They traded their stories back and forth as they traveled. When it grew dark, they stopped to make camp and rest.

“Are you sure?” Gaige asked as Zane took out the sedative.

“You better protect my ass if someone comes trying to kill me while I’m drugged,” Tim said.

“You’ll owe me big time,” Gaige said.

“I got you a nice ass shotgun,” Tim reminded.

“Shit. Yea, fine, I’ll keep you alive,” Gaige said.

Zane waited for Tim to nod before injecting him. It was only a few moments before he collapsed onto his sleeping back, chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.

“I don’t like it,” Gaige said as she watched him. “What if he gets addicted?”

“Then he’s shite out of luck when we part ways. I’m not givin’ him any for the road,” Zane said.

“He once told me Jack used to give him something to make him sleep through the night. He never asked Jack what it was. It got rid of his nightmares, so he didn’t care,” Gaige said. “He’s self-destructive like that.”

“We all have our vices,” Zane said, stretching.

“You sleep. I’ll take first watch,” Gaige said. “I bet he’s making you sedate him so he doesn’t have to take watch. Typical Tim.”

Zane let himself get some rest. Gaige woke him halfway through the night and they switched, Gaige falling asleep almost immediately.

In the morning, Tim actually woke first. Zane had given him a smaller dosage, not wanting him to sleep in too late. They needed to get moving if they wanted to get to their destination before nighttime.

Tim helped himself to breakfast once the grogginess had worn off. He checked his watch nervously.

“What?” Zane asked.

“I just know she’s already thought of a way to counter them,” Tim said. “She’s smart like that.”

“Then you have to be smarter, boyo,” Zane said.

He almost suggested that Tim take the watch off and hide it, but then he thought better of it and didn’t bother. Tim would never take that watch off his wrist if he could help it. He’d rather have it be useless in a fight than separated from him.

“Oi, Tim,” Zane said.

“Hm?” Tim said, fidgeting with his watch.

“Why do you still dress like Jack?”

Tim looked up at that, his posture at ease but his eyes guarded. “What?”

“Your hair is still styled the same as his was, and when I first met you, you were wearing the same kinda clothes he did,” Zane said. He took out his ECHO and pulled up a full-body picture of Handsome Jack, turning it so Tim could see. “Same jeans, same shoes, same Hyperion shirt with a jacket over it. Just missing that vest he wore.”

“It’s a comfortable outfit,” Tim said, shrugging. “Besides, Jack’s hair is a pain in the ass to manage. It’s easier to style like this.”

He sounded so casual about it that Zane knew it was a lie. “Did you ever change it?”

“I…cut it, yea,” Tim said, almost cautiously. “Like I said, easier to manage like this. Does it matter?”

Zane figured it did. If looking like Handsome Jack was that horrible for Tim, it would make sense for Tim to try and change his appearance as much as possible. Different hairstyle, different clothing.

Zane had a guess, but he hoped he was wrong. He was guessing that when Tim belonged to Jack, he was forced to look exactly like him, down to the clothes he wore.

If he thought Jack was back, he might be trying to adopt those looks again.

Zane didn’t know how deep Jack’s control over Tim was buried. But it was clear that Tim had never been free of him.

Tim’s sniper rifle suddenly appeared in his hands and he aimed at something in the distance. Zane squinted, following where Tim’s gun was pointed but seeing nothing.

“What?” he finally asked.

“COV,” Tim said softly. “They haven’t noticed us. Not a big group of them. But I guess that means we’re getting close to our target.”

Tim followed them with his sniper rifle until they were evidently out of sight. He lowered it, but didn’t get rid of it.

The two didn’t speak again as they waited for Gaige. It was a bit longer before she finally woke up, groggily dragging herself over to sit next to Tim and slump against his shoulder.

“Carry me the rest of the way,” she mumbled, closing her eyes again.

He nudged her. “Eat so we can get moving.”

She opened her eyes just enough to glare at him. “Fuck you, go get me something to eat. Wait, no, you’re my headrest. Zane! Food. Now.”

Zane chucked a breakfast bar her way and she tore the wrapper off, devouring it fast enough that he tossed her another. She chased them down with some water and allowed herself to be dragged to her feet by Tim.

“We’re close,” Tim said, that anxiety back in his posture. “We need to keep moving. And we need to be ready.”

Zane wasn’t sure Tim was ready, but he was pretty used to shitshows by this point in his life. So they packed up their stuff and got moving again.

As they walked, Zane stole a glance at Tim, unsurprised to see him rubbing the band of his watch with lightly trembling fingers. If Aurelia didn’t have the answers he was looking for, Zane honestly couldn’t predict how Tim would react, but he was already preparing himself for plenty of violence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy new year! I figured we could start the new year with some Tim content :D


	14. Chapter 14

Getting through their destination was hell.

Between COV shooting them, puzzles to continue on, and tight squeezes, Zane felt as frustrated as the other two looked. They’d entered through the Blackbarrel Cellars after a quick call to Wainwright, and from there, the struggle had begun.

Currently, Gaige was jamming a health kit into her bleeding leg where a bullet had skimmed her thigh, swearing under her breath. She tossed the empty vial aside and stretched out her leg.

“Motherfucking son of a bitch!” Gaige said, and shot the already very dead body of the COV who’d gotten her. “Take that bullet to hell with you, compliments of my pissed off self.”

“Will you quit wasting your ammo? That’s like the third time you’ve shot him after he was very clearly dead,” Tim said.

“It’s a healthy venting mechanism, fuck you!” Gaige said, whacking him with her gun.

“Ow! Go back to shooting the freaking dead guy,” Tim grunted, stepping away from her.

“Well, now that we’ve alerted any remaining COV exactly where we are, let’s get movin’,” Zane suggested.

Tim held a hand out to Gaige, who took it and let him hoist her to her feet. She tested her leg, seemed pleased by the results of the health kit, and began walking.

“You good?” Tim asked.

“I’m ready to shoot someone who’s actually alive to suffer,” Gaige said.

“Yep, you’re good,” Tim said.

They entered a room with a hole in the ground. Zane peered down it and could see a room below, though no movement in it.

“No COV,” Tim said, his voice low as he touched his gun. He was tense, alert. “I think this is it. She’s waiting.”

“Let’s not keeping her waiting any longer,” Zane said. “You sure you’re ready, boyo?”

“Just leave her alive long enough for me to question her. We’ll likely have to subdue her,” Tim said.

Gaige and Zane shared a look and gave slight nods as Tim looked down the hole. If he got too out of control, they’d have to stop him.

The three lowered themselves down to the next level. They’d just straightened up when a flash of blue came from the corner of the room, and Tim cried out.

He hunched over, clutching his arm to his chest. Ice had formed around it, a thick coating that kept his watch out of access.

Tim cursed loudly and knelt to the ground, slamming his frozen arm against it and wincing, the ice not so much as cracking. He glared over at the corner where the attack had come from.

“I couldn’t have you summoning your little digiclones when this could be over so quickly,” Aurelia Hammerlock said, stepping forward. “I suppose I shouldn’t be so surprised that the Children of the Vault failed to killed you. Their followers can be quite incompetent.”

Tim curled his arm against his chest again and got back to his feet. “I just need to talk, Aurelia.”

Aurelia turned her nose up at him. “I have nothing to speak to you about. I will finish what the COV failed to. There is no use for you in this world.”

“It’s about back then,” Tim pressed on. “About Nakayama.”

Nakayama? Zane furrowed his brow. He’d heard that name before. Hyperion. But why did it stick out to him?

Aurelia’s curiosity seemed piqued for the first time, but then a cruel smile spread on her face. “You were always the most pathetic of the group. You’d be ever so forgettable, if you weren’t wearing his hideous face.”

The cold, calm expression had slipped back onto Tim’s face. “You know what I’m asking about.”

“And I know nothing more than that,” Aurelia said.

“You’re lying, sweetheart,” Tim said, and before she could respond, he shot at her.

Blocks of ice sprang up around the room, one shielding Aurelia from the shot. Zane grabbed his gun and took cover behind one of the ice blocks. So much for trying to work things out without violence.

“Tim!” Gaige hissed as Tim darted away from her.

He was at the biggest disadvantage. He’d immediately lost his digi-Jacks, and he was down an arm. But there was a fierce determination on his face, and he moved swiftly, darting between cover with his pistol in hand.

Zane shot at COV as they approached the room. He summoned his SNTNL and digiclone to help fend them off.

Aurelia was not an easy opponent.

Her ice was tricky to maneuver around, as it limited movement in some spots. It also didn’t help that the COV were keeping the three of them scattered instead of focused into one assault.

Aurelia seemed most focused on Tim, who, to Zane’s surprise, was not being rash. He moved carefully, dodging her attacks, only a few of them hitting his shields. Gaige was helping Zane’s gadgets take out the COV alongside Deathtrap, which gave Zane a chance to move closer to help Tim.

Zane finally managed to get close to Tim. “Oi, she’s driving us back with ice. Gaige likes a close range fight, so this isn’t a good one for her to take charge on. I’ll distract her, you take out her shield.”

Tim nodded, and Zane recalled his clone to him. He darted out from cover, his clone swarming from one side and him from the other.

Aurelia paid no mind to the clone, throwing up a wall of ice to stop it’s attacks. She instead focused on Zane, looking more irritated than anything to be up against him.

Zane fired on her, swapping with his clone and dashing around the wall when she tried to freeze him. Cryo attacks were a favorite of his, but useless against Aurelia. He instead focused on taking quick shots at her before darting around with his clone to minimize the counterattacks.

“Do you take me for a fool?” Aurelia asked, and instead of aiming at Zane or his clone, she flung her arm out. Ice flew from it, and blasted against Tim’s legs, freezing him in place as he tried to throw a grenade. It was knocked from his hands and instead took out a chunk of ice behind him.

Tim didn’t struggle or panic despite his sudden situation. Instead, he switched to an incendiary SMG and began shooting at the ice keeping him trapped.

Zane tried to buy him time with a close-range attack, but Aurelia used one of her tornadoes to knock him away. The force of it sent Zane slamming into the nearby wall, his gun falling from his hands. He scrambled for it, but Aurelia’s attention was not on him.

“You should’ve died alongside him,” she said simply.

“Shite!” Zane hissed, firing at Aurelia wildly.

The assault was only enough to knock her off balance as she launched a spear of ice at Tim. It pierced through his shoulder, and he howled in pain.

“Tim!” Gaige cried in alarm.

Tim cupped his hands by the wound, body trembling as blood poured down his shirt, staining the ice on his hand red. He picked his head up, eyes wild with rage.

“You shouldn’t have done that,” he snarled.

He fired at the ice binding him again as Zane got up and launched an assault on Aurelia. Tim managed to free himself with Aurelia distracted, and he staggered forward.

Gaige was rushing over, leaving Deathtrap and SNTNL to deal with the COV. Tim barely seemed to notice, his eyes locked on Aurelia.

His feet weren’t fully freed- it was too risky to burn the ice for so long. He’d risk burning his skin or lighting his clothes on fire, and Zane suspected that risk prevented Tim from firing his weapon on his frozen arm. He could damage his watch.

The ice on his feet left Tim a little off balance, but he pressed on, closer and closer to Aurelia. Aurelia summoned another tornado that sent Zane against the wall again, and knocked Gaige and Deathtrap across the floor. Tim slammed into one of the blocks of ice, crying out in pain and frustration as the spear of ice twisted in his flesh.

“Oi, Tim, remember when we met?” Zane said, getting to his feet.

Tim reached for his grenades. Zane rarely used his, but he kept some on him just to be prepared, and he grabbed two.

They flung their grenades at Aurelia. Zane lobbed his so one landed to her left and one landed to her right. Tim’s contact grenade stuck to the floor in front of her.

That left her only one option. She stumbled back, cocooning herself in ice just as the blasts went off. Zane threw up his barrier and Tim ducked behind the ice block he’d been thrown into.

They rushed forward as the blasts ended, and Gaige followed along. The three surrounded Aurelia’s cocoon and fired on it with everything they had, watching the cracks run up the ice.

As the ice shattered, Aurelia threw her arms out, the shards flying forward. Zane yanked Gaige behind his barrier since she was the closest. Tim’s SMG melted the shards enough that they cut him up a little instead of piercing into his body. He was struggling between his injured shoulder and his frozen hand, but that cold determination didn’t leave his face as he moved closer to Aurelia.

Her shield went down, and Zane and Gaige stopped firing. Zane wondered if they should knock her unconscious and tie her up.

Tim evidently had different plans.

He shot her in the gut.

Aurelia fell to the ground, hands over the wound as a pained hiss slipped between her teeth. Tim kicked her so she was on her back, his foot on her shoulder. He pointed the gun at her face.

“Tell me,” he said.

“The little coward, all grown up,” Aurelia said, and spat blood on his leg. “You’ll get nothing from me.”

To Zane’s surprise, Tim holstered his gun. He pulled out a health kit and knelt beside Aurelia, holding it so she could see it clearly.

“Your wound is fatal without this,” he said, nudging near it with his sneaker. She winced but didn’t cry out in pain. “Your brother wants you back alive. So, we’ll broker a deal. You give me the information I want, and I give you this health kit.”

Zane watched Aurelia. She was a dignified person, not one to look weak. But she was also someone who didn’t want to die. He’d seen many people sacrifice a shred of dignity for a chance at life.

Aurelia didn’t give Tim the satisfaction of frustration or anger. She smoothed her face despite the way her body was tensed in pain.

“The information, and then the vial,” Tim said, realizing he’d won. “And if you come after me for revenge, I will kill you. One time deal, cupcake.”

Blood was leaking through her fingers, and she coughed a spray of it. “Nakayama…finished it. That’s all…I know,” she said, taking rattling breaths. “It likely died with…with him, or Hyperion.”

Zane saw Tim’s expression grow wild, with terror and anger and frustration, all mingled together before the cold look returned. It was not the answer he wanted.

“That’s all you know?” he pressed.

“I never cared…for Jack. That’s all I know,” she said.

“It’s not good enough,” Tim said, and jammed the health kit into his shoulder. He took the empty vial, and shoved it into her neck, getting to his feet. “When you get to hell, tell Jack who fucking sent you.”

“You were always…a coward. Can’t even exist…without him…” Aurelia said, closing her eyes.

He walked away from her as she coughed up more blood. Gaige closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath.

She opened them and looked to Zane. “She would’ve come after us.”

“I know,” Zane said, and shot her in the head. He’d at least give Alistair that much.

They got to their feet and Zane put a hand on Gaige’s shoulder. She pushed it off.

“I know, Zane. I know,” she said. “Just…he needs medical attention. A few health kits won’t fix that. Fuck. What a fucking mess, all of it.”

They walked over to where Tim had collapsed against the wall. Zane took the SMG from him and grabbed his arm. He shot the floor until a small fire started, and held Tim’s frozen arm over it.

Tim didn’t even react as the ice began to melt from his arm. The health kit had slowed the bleeding from his shoulder, but he’d lost a lot of blood before he’d injected himself. Gaige was right; they needed to get him to Sanctuary for medical attention.

As the last of the ice melted from his arm, Tim pulled his arm away and swiped at his watch. The digi-Jacks appeared as Zane put out the fire and handed the SMG back to Tim.

“Get him to Sanctuary,” Blue said sharply. “He’s lost too much blood. He’ll lose consciousness soon.”

“She didn’t know,” Tim said. His words were a little slurred. He put his hand near the ice spear still sticking out of his shoulder. “She didn’t goddamn know.”

“Tim,” Jay said, looking troubled. “We’ll figure something else out. We will. But you need medical attention, now.”

“She didn’t know,” Tim repeated, trying to get to his feet.

Gaige pushed him back down. “Stop being stubborn. Tim, come on, so what if she didn’t know? We’ll keep looking for someone who does.”

“She was…the last,” Tim said, gripping Gaige’s arm. “He’ll…” Gaige had to catch him before he could fall over. “He’ll come back. He’ll find me.”

“He’s losing consciousness,” Blue said, looking away. “He doesn’t know what he’s saying. Don’t listen to him.”

“Jack will come back?” Gaige asked, ignoring Blue. She shook Tim a little. “Tim! Tim, do you mean Jack will come back?”

“He’ll find me. He’ll fix me,” Tim whispered, and his breathing hitched. “He’ll…he’ll fix me…he’ll…”

Gaige caught him as he slumped over. She was careful of his injury, and Zane helped her get him to his feet.

“Blue?” Gaige asked sharply. “What the fuck did he mean?”

“Get him medical attention,” Blue said, and disappeared back into the watch. Before Gaige could open her mouth, Jay disappeared too.

“Nakayama,” Zane said. “I’ve heard the name. Let’s get him back to Sanctuary before he’s showing up to that party in hell, eh? Then I’ll look up Nakayama and see why I know the name.”

“He said he was looking for sensitive information,” Gaige said as they shifted him between them in a way that wouldn’t cause the ice spear to tear or twist into him anymore than it already had. They began walking, careful but as quick as they could. They needed a fast travel station.

“There’s always the small possibility that Blue wasn’t full of shite when he said Tim didn’t know what he was saying,” Zane said.

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Gaige said. “He looked scared out of his unstable mind when he said it.”

“I said small,” Zane pointed out.

They didn’t speak on it anymore. They were both relieved when they found a fast travel station, and sent themselves up to Sanctuary.

As soon as they appeared on the ship, Gaige snapped at the nearest person to go warn Tannis they were coming with a serious injury. They pulled Tim to Tannis, who already had a bed ready for them to lay him on.

“Well, this is different,” Tannis said, staring at the spear of ice.

“Just…get it out of him, and don’t let him die,” Gaige said.

“I will try my best!” Tannis said, sticking a health kit into Tim. “This is a fascinating way to injure someone. I’m used to gun wounds.”

“Tannis! Focus,” Gaige said. “There’s a fucking ice spear sticking out of his shoulder.”

“I am well aware. It’s very hard to miss,” Tannis said.

Gaige got up and Zane followed her out of medical. She slumped against the wall, hugging her arms to herself.

“I really thought he had a chance,” she said at last. “But no, of course Handsome Jack has to come back and haunt him all these years later. Do you know how hard he tried to find Tim after we hid him? We fed him false information about where Tim was, and Jack tore the place apart trying to get his hands on Tim.”

“Tim wouldn’t have survived as long as he did if he wasn’t important to Jack,” Zane said.

“What now?” Gaige asked.

“Now we wait for him to wake up, and see where that takes us,” Zane said.

“Us?” Gaige looked at him in surprise.

“I’m too curious to back out now,” Zane said. He was also concerned about the possibility of Tim turning into Handsome Jack 2, but he didn’t voice that to Gaige. The last thing the galaxy needed was another Handsome Jack.

“Yea, well…” Gaige punched him in the shoulder and looked away. “Thanks, grandpa.”

“I save your arses with my genius bomb plan to trap her, and you still disrespect me,” Zane said with a sigh. “Ungrateful kids these days.” He glanced at medical before looking back at Gaige. “Go get some sleep. He’ll be out for a while.”

“I know,” she said, rubbing her temples. “Yea, okay, I’ll go get some sleep. God, what a shitshow.”

“You can say that again,” Zane said.

So Gaige did, looking angry. “What a shitshow.”

She turned and walked off towards Lilith’s room. Zane looked into medical, where Tannis was tending to Tim, her body obstructing his view of what exactly she was doing. He could see Tim’s pale face, though.

He didn’t know what happened next. He just knew that whatever Tim was after, it was a bigger threat than any of them had given it credit for if it could shake him up that much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Instead of deleting and rewriting the later chapters, I decided to just roll with it because it's fanfic so why not have some fun with it? Hopefully you guys will have some fun with the next few chapters too!


	15. Chapter 15

Zane treated his wounds with health kits and allowed himself to sleep for a bit after catching Lilith up on everything. Lilith had seemed bothered by the news, but was forced to shake it off so she could go tell the others that Aurelia was dead and they should have an easier time getting to the vault once they had all the key fragments.

When Zane woke up, he showered and dressed, heading for medical. He peeked in, but Gaige didn’t appear to be in the room, so he moved along to Lilith’s room.

He lifted his hand to knock but paused as he heard Gaige’s voice. She sounded angry, though he could detect that she was also upset.

Eavesdropping was bad, but so was murder and Zane had made a living off that, so.

“-hasn’t woken up yet,” Gaige was saying.

“But Tannis said he’d be okay, right?” The voice was unfamiliar to Zane, but it was a man’s voice, and Zane recalled Lilith saying that Gaige and Axton were close. He was assuming this voice belonged to Axton.

“Physically, he’ll be fine in a few days,” Gaige said. “Mentally? I don’t know, Axton. He…It’s like he wasn’t even in there when he left Aurelia to die. He was all Handsome Jack. Give them a glimmer of hope and then snatch it away without a second thought. And now Tim thinks Jack is going to get him. ‘Fix him’, he said.”

“Like in the Preserve?” Axton’s voice was grim. “If he really thinks Handsome Jack is coming back and gunning for him, I’m not surprised he’s being a little shithead again.”

“I just don’t know what to do,” Gaige groaned.

“Do you need me?” Axton asked.

“Duh, I miss your hot ass,” she said. “But…for now, let me see how it goes when he wakes up. He’s really paranoid. I don’t know if he’d let you come with us.”

“You know how to reach me if you need anything,” Axton said. “Go have a drink. Tell Moxxi it’s on me.”

“You’re the best,” Gaige said.

It went quiet in the room. Zane waited two minutes before knocking.

Gaige opened the door. “Oh, you’re up. Lilith said you were going to try and sleep.”

“And sleep I did. Pleasant dreams of blowing the heads off COV bastards,” Zane said. “How’s the lad?”

“Still out,” Gaige said. “I was going to head there and check on him. Tannis sedated him again so he wouldn’t wake up while she was trying to get the ice spear out of his shoulder, but he should be up sometime soon.”

“I’ll head with ya,” Zane said. “Any damage from the fight?”

They started walking together, and Gaige rubbed her shoulder. “I popped my shoulder out of place, and had some lighter wounds. Health kits fixed me up. Thanks for saving me from being an icicle pincushion, by the way.”

“Me pleasure!” Zane said.

They reached medical and went inside. Tannis was experimenting on a dead skag, and Zane really didn’t even want to ask.

“How is he?” Gaige asked.

“Why not ask him? He’s awake,” Tannis said without looking up from the skag.

“What?!” Gaige spun to face the bed Tim was in.

He was indeed awake, though not looking at them. He stared off into the room, and didn’t even appear to notice that they were there. His shoulder was heavily bandaged, his shirt gone.

Gaige cautiously approached and Zane followed. She touched Tim’s shoulder, and he flinched, eyes widening before realizing who it was. He stared at Gaige for a moment before she punched his good shoulder.

“You could’ve told me you were awake,” she said. “You’re such a bitch.”

“I just woke up a few minutes ago,” he said.

Gaige sat on the edge of his bed, and Zane pulled a chair up. Tim was absent-mindedly rubbing the band of his watch, but he didn’t summon the digi-Jacks.

“How’s your shoulder?” Gaige asked.

“Still attached,” Tim said.

“Miraculously,” Tannis said.

“It was pretty bad, I guess. I don’t remember anything,” Tim said. “It’ll be fine in a few days.”

Gaige glanced at Zane before looking back to Tim. “Tim, about what you said. Before you lost consciousness.”

“I don’t remember what I said before I lost consciousness, because I was losing an alarming amount of blood in a very short span of time,” Tm said.

“You said Jack was going to come back and fix you,” Gaige said.

“I said what?” Tim said, face pale.

“What are you really looking for?” Gaige asked.

Tim shook his head, slumping back against the pillows. “Sensitive information. I told you.” He scrubbed a hand down his face, looking exhausted. “Gaige I…” He hesitated, looked away. “The nightmares. They’re him. They’re always him threatening to fix me. I hid from him until he was dead, because I knew what he’d do to me if he got me back. What I’m after is about Jack, but it’s not…it’s not him. He’s…” He dug his nails into his palms. “He’s gone.”

Gaige rested her hand on his good shoulder, but her expression was hard. “He is gone, Timothy. Lilith killed him. I watched her do it. He can’t hurt you anymore.”

Zane didn’t buy it.

Tim didn’t believe Jack was gone. He was just manipulating Gaige’s protectiveness and sympathy for him so he didn’t have to tell the truth.

It was a move Handsome Jack would pull.

But Zane let it slide. For now.

“I don’t know what to do next. I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Tim said. He ran a hand through his hair. “Gaige, you should go back to whatever you were doing before. I’ll be fine. Really.”

“Hell no. You’re stuck with us,” Gaige said. “Grandpa is fond of us.”

“Not so much fond. Maybe entertained?” Zane tried.

“Yea, alright,” Tim mumbled, his head dropping to the side. He mumbled something else before falling asleep.

“Uh, Tannis, is that normal?” Gaige asked.

“Hm? Oh, yes, he’ll be fine. I’m fairly certain, at least. His body is just recovering from the blood loss,” Tannis said.

Gaige reached out and swiped the watch. Blue and Jay appeared, both looking to Tim.

“Is he good? He just fell asleep in the middle of talking to us,” Gaige said.

“He’ll be okay. His shoulder was pretty wrecked and he lost a lot of blood. He just needs rest right now,” Blue said.

“And health kits,” Jay said.

“So he’s really out right now?” Gaige asked.

“Yes. The sedative is still lingering in his system,” Blue said. “He’ll likely be in and out of consciousness for a few hours.”

“Cool, then let’s talk about why the fuck he thinks I’m going to buy his bullshit,” Gaige said.

“Ah, so you did catch on,” Zane said.

“Of course I did, but I didn’t want Tim to drive me away because of it,” Gaige said. “If you two go back in the watch, I’ll just keep summoning you. Let’s make this as painless as possible, and you can tell me what the hell he meant about Jack coming back, and why he just played a nasty fucking card to try to trick me into thinking it was a lie when he let it slip.”

Blue and Jay looked at each other, but didn’t answer. Gaige narrowed her eyes.

“You’re not allowed to tell me. He gave you orders,” she said.

“Handsome Jack is dead,” Blue said carefully. “But…I suppose you could say his will is still in the world. You can’t blame Tim for being afraid of any part of Jack surviving.”

“Let’s say Jack comes back in some form. How would he ‘fix’ Tim?” Zane asked.

Blue clenched his fists. “He wouldn’t. We wouldn’t let him.”

“He’s gone,” Jay said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “He’s gone. Just let it drop. You’ll only upset Tim more. His nightmares are getting worse as his anxiety over the whole thing does.”

“Should I call Axton to help us?” Gaige asked.

Jay shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. It might just remind Tim of betraying Jack, and scare him even more. You remember what Jack did to him for that betrayal.”

Gaige looked at Tim’s sleeping form. “Yea. I remember.”

“Gaige…there were times when Tim would show cracks in the Jack façade. The whole reason Jack branded Tim’s face was because Tim had been planning to leave Jack. So whenever he gave Jack even the slightest reason to doubt his loyalty, Jack would ‘fix’ him. Sometimes that involved physical abuse that sent Tim to medical for days, or even weeks. Sometimes it just involved Jack locking Tim up alone until he broke and begged for Jack to come back to him,” Blue said, his face disgusted. “He was so desperate for company that he spent months convincing Jack to make us the way we are now.”

“What Blue means, is that Tim was abused into his loyalty for Jack. I know it’s been years since Tim escaped Jack physically, but he’s never escaped mentally, even if he’s good at convincing you he has,” Jay said. “The nightmares have always been there. They’ve just gotten worse over this whole thing.”

They were all just avoiding the truth. Something was out there, something that Tim was convinced was Handsome Jack.

Gaige knew it. She looked to Blue.

“How long will he be out?” she asked.

He shrugged. “In and out of consciousness, for now. It’s good though. He needs the rest. If you two had tried to pull that ice from his shoulder, he probably would’ve lost his arm.”

“Thanks for the confidence,” Gaige said.

“You tend to be aggressive,” Jay pointed out.

“I know how to handle an injury!” Gaige said.

Zane gestured to her prosthetic arm. “Clearly.”

“Oh, fuck off. At least I have two eyes,” Gaige said dismissively. “I’m going to go get a drink.”

“I’ll join you,” Zane said.

“Tannis, let me know if he wakes up again,” Gaige said as she stood up.

“Sure, sure,” Tannis said, focused on the skag carcass.

Gaige sighed and the two left, the digi-Jacks taking their seats. As soon as they were clear of view from medical, Gaige cursed.

“Tim’s hiding something, and he’s ordered them to hide it too,” she said.

“Well, no shite,” Zane said. “Nakayama. Still haven’t figured out why that’s ringin’ a bell. Don’t think I killed the fella.”

“Could Jack really be around?” Gaige asked. “I saw Lilith kill him. I saw it.”

“And I saw pictures of his corpse,” Zane said. “Bastard’s dead, seven blessed years. But if he created basic digi-Jacks, who’s to say he didn’t create a more comprehensive one?”

“An AI of Handsome Jack,” Gaige said, leaning against the wall. “Even if that were the case, why would Tim be so afraid? AIs have limits, restrictions. We could keep Tim hidden and take out the AI. It would be easier to kill than the real Jack.”

“Unless it could infect his watch if it was released,” Zane said. “That’s me best guess right now. He’s always playing with that watch.”

“Shit,” Gaige said. She sighed heavily. “Alright, okay, no use speculating. Let’s just…get drinks. A lot of drinks.”

“Amen to that,” Zane said.

The two entered Moxxi’s and sat at the bar. Moxxi slid a drink to Gaige.

“Axton already covered you, sugar,” Moxxi said.

“Oh, I love that man,” Gaige said in relief.

Moxxi gave Zane his usual and left the two alone to go tend to other customers on the other end of the bar. Gaige took a large swig of her drink.

“What now?” Zane said. “The only survivors of his old team are Claptrap and Athena, right? Would Claptrap know anything?”

“I doubt it,” Gaige said, shaking her head. “Besides, it’s probably best to leave him out of it. He’s not exactly good at keeping secrets, and if there really is a form of Handsome Jack out there somewhere, it’s best not to alarm people.”

“Tim said he already talked to Athena, right?” Zane said.

“Right. She apparently didn’t know anything either,” Gaige said. “The thing I don’t get is that Tim keeps saying only his team from Elpis should’ve known about whatever this thing is. So how the hell did someone else find it?”

“This Nakayama fella might’ve let someone in on whatever it was,” Zane said.

“I guess.” Gaige groaned and took another swig of her drink. “Shit. I don’t want to think about it anymore. I hope Axton paid for a hell of a lot of drinks.”

“If he didn’t, I will. We’re gonna need ‘em, lass,” Zane said, clapping her on the shoulder.

“You’re my favorite elderly man ever, grandpa,” Gaige said, holding her drink up to him.

He smacked his against it. “Let’s get feckin’ drunk already.”

The two set aside their thoughts for the moment and buried themselves deeper in their drinks. There was nothing more to do until Tim came up with a new plan to get information. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know there's not much going on in this chapter so I'll try to post another update this week!


	16. Chapter 16

Two days later, there was still no progress.

Tim laid in the bed in medical, silent as they treated his shoulder. The wound was apparently worse than it had looked, and Tannis informed them that she’d been fairly certain Tim was going to lose his arm when she first started tending to him.

He was finally starting to heal a little, and he did simple exercises to work his shoulder without hurting it more. He was forbidden from leaving medical, and spent most of his time just sleeping or reading. Zane caught him listening to his ECHO several times, and could guess which logs he was replaying.

No matter how hard Gaige tried to bring the conversation back up, Tim always shut it down. Gaige eventually backed off, not wanting to drive Tim away.

Instead, she and Zane kept Tim company with card games that he barely paid attention to. They tried putting on movies to watch, but Tim was never looking at the screen. He was quiet, lost in his own thoughts.

“He’s like a zombie,” Gaige said as they stood outside medical.

“His shoulder’s doing better. Might be a good idea to get him off Sanctuary for a bit to get some fresh air,” Zane suggested.

“Yea, maybe,” Gaige said.

“Zane, I need to talk to you,” Lilith said over his ECHO.

“Aye, be right there, Commander,” Zane said.

“I’m coming. I can’t keep watching him like this,” Gaige said.

“Suit yourself,” Zane said.

They walked the short distance together, finding Lilith where she normally was. She was pacing, looking at her ECHO. She looked up as they approached.

“Zane, I’m sending you to Promethea. Rhys needs help,” Lilith said.

“Rhys! I missed my mustache brother,” Zane said. “What’s he need?”

“I’m not sure. Help with something Maliwan related, I think,” Lilith said. “Gaige, did you want to go with him?”

“Her and Tim will come,” Zane said.

“Whoa, hold on,” Lilith said, holding her hand up. “Didn’t Tim almost just lose an arm? Shouldn’t he be resting?”

“He’s healing up,” Zane said. “Besides, Rhys’s office is safe. We’ll keep him there. It’ll get him out without putting him in danger.”

Gaige chewed on her lip for a moment before nodding slowly. “I think the longer he sits here, the longer he gets lost in his thoughts. He needs to get out, Lilith. We were actually just talking about it before you called Zane in here.”

“I…alright. It’s not my call,” Lilith said. “Rhys’s office should be secured, but I can’t guarantee Tim will be wholly safe down there. Just know that.”

“He’s got Blue and Jay, and he’s still able to shoot with his good arm,” Gaige said. “He’ll be okay.”

“Well, Rhys didn’t say much about what was going on. You know how he panics and just…says words? But it sounds like Maliwan activity,” Lilith said. “I’ll send you three for now, and if it’s something big, we’ll contact the others for backup.”

“Well, let’s get crackin’!” Zane said, eager to be out of here and on the move again. He hated just sitting around.

“Let’s go grab Tim,” Gaige said. “If it’s too dangerous for him in his current state, we’ll send him back here for safety. But I think he’ll be okay.”

They left, heading down to medical together. Tim was resting on the bed in there, flipping through a magazine, his eyes on the words but his gaze unfocused.

“Hey,” Gaige said, kicking the bed roughly.

Tim jumped a little and looked at her. “What?”

“Get up. We’re heading to Promethea,” she said.

Tim tossed the magazine aside and sat up. “Promethea? For what?”

“To help an ally of the Crimson Raiders,” Gaige said. “He’s got a pretty secure office that we’ll keep you at so you don’t rip your arm off.”

“My arm is fine,” Tim lied.

“You almost lost it,” Gaige said. “Put your shirt on, and gear up. We’re heading out.”

Tim didn’t bother arguing since he was being invited along anyways. He tugged his shirt on, trying to make it seem like a simple task. Zane saw how he struggled to move his injured arm properly though. It took longer than it should’ve just for him to manage to get the shirt on, but he stood up and grabbed his gear from where it was being stored.

“We don’t know much. Likely Maliwan related,” Zane said as Tim struggled to get his weapons belt on with one hand.

“Yea, those pricks were swarming Promethea when I was hiding out there,” Tim said. “They were after Atlas.”

“Still are, by the sounds of it,” Zane said.

Once Tim was geared up, they made a quick stop to get their own things before going to the fast travel station. Zane figured they could fast travel right to Rhys’s office, but he wanted to scope out the lower floors of the Atlas building to see what was up.

“Hood up,” he ordered Tim. They didn’t have time to explain to the Atlas employees why they were apparently traveling with Handsome Jack seven years after his death.

Tim pulled his hood up so that his face was hidden. Zane activated the fast travel system, and moments later, the three stood inside the Atlas building.

“Vault hunter!” one of the Atlas soldiers said in surprise.

“Lilith said Rhys needed our help,” Zane said. “What’s going on, boyo?”

“Maliwan is striking again,” the soldier said. “They captured a unit of our soldiers on patrol, and infiltrated the building. Soldiers are clearing out the invaders now. That part is mostly under control. Please, head to Rhys’s office to see what he wants you to do specifically. If you can, though, I’m sure the soldiers wouldn’t mind help taking care of the stragglers.”

“Love taking care of stragglers!” Zane said. A few stray Maliwan agents wouldn’t be enough to put Tim’s arm at risk, so he figured they could help out on their way up. Tim might even get some stress relief out of shooting from the background.

Zane led them towards the path, where gunfire echoed from. It wasn’t the rapid, frantic gunfire of an all-out battle, but it was enough to tell Zane this would be fun.

Tim had his pistol gripped in his good hand, but he looked unsure. “I shouldn’t summon them unless I have to, right? Otherwise, why bother hiding my face?”

“Ah…didn’t think of that,” Zane admitted.

“We’ll keep you covered,” Gaige said. “You aren’t scared, are you Timmy?”

“Hell no,” Tim said. “Just, the hood blocks my peripheral, so it’d be nice to have them covering me for any flankers. I can hold my own without them.”

It wasn’t long before they encountered three Maliwan trying to take on Atlas soldiers. Two of the soldiers were already injured and trying to keep behind cover, while the other two alternated their fire to keep a constant stream of it on the Maliwan.

“That one keeps poking his head out. He’d be easy to snipe,” Tim said.

“Don’t,” Gaige warned. “The recoil will knock your arm right off your body. Literally.”

“So dramatic,” Tim said, but aimed his pistol instead.

Zane and Gaige grabbed their guns, and charged in to help the two soldiers. Tim reluctantly hung back, his aim off using just one arm.

Still, they overpowered the Maliwan quickly and took them down. They progressed along, stopping to help any soldiers they found engaged in battle.

At one point, a Maliwan tried to flank Tim and an injured soldier, but Tim risked his injured arm to steady his aim and take a headshot to finish the Maliwan off. He rubbed his shoulder as the body collapsed to the ground, but he kept walking forward to catch up with them.

The three had no problems as they made their way through the building. They reached the elevator without a scratch on any of them.

“Man, that was boring,” Gaige said in disappointment. “I thought this would be at least a little more exciting.”

“Sometimes, boring is good,” Tim reminded.

“Shut up,” Gaige said, stomping on his foot. “I like exciting.”

The elevator door slid open as they reached their destination, and Zane took them to Rhys’s office. Rhys was writing at his desk, but he looked up in relief as they entered. He frowned, looking from Tim to Gaige.

“Uh…who?” he asked.

“She’s a Crimson Raider, and he’s…well, he has a cool digistruct watch,” Zane said, gesturing between them.

“A cool digistruct watch,” Tim echoed dryly.

Zane didn’t reply to that. He was too busy staring at the sudden loss of color on Rhys’s face.

“Your hood. Put your hood down,” Rhys said, his voice shaky.

Tim’s voice. Zane mentally cursed. Rhys was ex-Hyperion. Of course he’d recognize Tim just by his voice.

Tim reached up and pulled the hood down. Rhys stood up so fast his chair fell over, and then he tripped on it and fell right on his ass as he stared at Tim in horror.

“No, no, no,” Rhys said, pointing a shaking finger at Tim. “No, you’re…dead…and the eye…you can’t be here! That’s not possible!”

“Well,” Tim said, looking at Gaige. “You said you wanted exciting.”

“He’s ex-Hyperion,” Zane explained. “Oi, Rhys, don’t wet yourself, boyo. This here’s Timothy Lawrence. He was a body double for Handsome Jack, but he left Jack’s employ before Jack was killed.”

Rhys just kept staring at him in terror. “You’re dead,” he repeated hoarsely, and pressed his hand over his cybernetic eye. “Dead. Gone.”

“No, Handsome Jack is dead,” Tim said. “I’m unfortunately still kicking.”

“It’s not Handsome Jack/Timothy was a double/He worked with us once.”

Zer0 was suddenly behind Tim, and Tim backed away cautiously. Gaige brightened at the sight of him.

“Hey, Zer0,” she greeted. He flashed “:D” on his mask.

“You, I don’t trust,” Tim said. Zer0 flashed “D:” on his mask.

“In Tim’s defense, you did murder two people trying to recuse him,” Gaige reminded. “Anyways, is he having a heart attack? He looks like he’s having a heart attack.”

Zer0 went over and helped Rhys up. He leaned close, apparently whispering something in Rhys’s ear. Rhys nodded slowly, his hands still trembling. He swallowed hard and righted his chair, sitting back down. He kept shooting terrified looks at Tim.

“Uh, right, anyways,” Rhys said, his voice unsteady. “Maliwan kidnapped a patrol unit. I was hoping you could help us retrieve them, and clear the building of any rogue Maliwan hiding in here. My troops are keeping them at bay around Promethea.”

“Will you have another heart attack when we tell you we’re leaving Tim here?” Zane said. “His shoulders a bit fecked at the moment. Not ideal for taking on Maliwan troops.”

“He- what.” Rhys stared at Zane, waiting for him to say he was kidding. When Zane didn’t, Rhys went back to the terrified look directed at Tim.

Tim pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m going with you two. I’m fine to shoot.”

“Really?” Gaige said.

“Really,” Tim assured.

“Your dumbass hurt yourself when you shot earlier. Your shoulder is bleeding again,” Gaige said.

Tim paused. “How did you-”

“When you rubbed your shoulder, the blood soaked through the shirt,” Zane said, gesturing to the blood stain.

Tim cursed. “It’s fine. I just pulled on the wound a little. The stitches are still holding.”

“Have it cleared while Zane and I make a plan for what we’re going to do,” Gaige said.

Tim cursed again but swiped at his watch. Blue and Jay came into being, both giving Tim an annoyed look. Blue opened his mouth to say something, but Rhys’s choked scream cut him off.

Rhys had nearly fall out of the chair again, but Zer0 caught him this time. Rhys couldn’t take his eyes off of Blue.

“Is that…?” Rhys gripped Zer0 tightly. “Zer0, what the fuck. What the fuck.”

Zane looked at Tim, and didn’t like what he saw.

Instead of being surprised, Tim’s gaze had sharpened.

“They’re digistructs,” Tim said, his voice too calm.

“Who’s that?” Blue asked.

“Ex-Hyperion,” Tim said. He gave a chilling smile, all Handsome Jack. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost, kiddo.”

“Tim,” Gaige said, her voice firm. “Send them back in the watch.”

“Sure. Tell me how my shoulder is, and then go,” Tim said to his companions.

“It’s fine. Just don’t shoot with that arm again or you’ll risk pulling the stitches. You shouldn’t have done it in the first place,” Jay said.

“Tim-” Blue started.

“The watch,” Tim said.

Blue looked frustrated, but he and Jay disappeared with a flash. Tim touched the band of the watch.

“They were digistructs/Made before the rise of Jack/They belong to Tim,” Zer0 said to Rhys.

“They’re harmless to my allies,” Tim said.

“Rhys, what’s going on?” Gaige demanded. “Why are you so scared of Tim and his digistructs?”

“Handsome Jack has that effect on people,” Tim said. “It’s alright, Gaige. I’m used to it.”

“They were talking,” Rhys said, his voice on the edge of hysteria now. Zer0 gripped his shoulder tightly and shook him a little.

“They’re AIs,” Tim said, and Zane saw his expression darken at the fear on Rhys’s face.

“Alright, yes, Tim looks like Jack because he was a body double, and his digi-Jacks are AIs under Tim’s control,” Gaige said impatiently. “Back to business. Shooting guys? Yes? I want to do that. Give me the details on how I do that.”

“Right,” Rhys whispered, and cleared his throat. “Right, yes, Maliwan. Business.” He laughed, a strangled sound. “Business. Okay.” He took a deep breath, looked to Zer0 who nodded, and sat down yet again. Zer0 took up a position at his side, on guard. Rhys seemed to ease knowing Zer0 had him covered. “Okay.” He pulled up a map of the area. “The kidnapped unit is being held here. It’s heavily guarded.”

“Then you’ll need me,” Tim said.

“Timothy fuckass Lawrence, you’re staying right here!” Gaige said, glaring at him. “As cool as a prosthetic arm would look on you, I know you’d never stop bitching about it.”

Rhys finished going over the situation, detailing everything he knew and everyone he could spare to help them reclaim the kidnapped soldiers. When he was done talking, Zane pretended to think it over.

“Gaige, with me. We need to discuss a battle tactic,” Zane said, striding for the door.

Gaige followed him, and they went into an empty room, locking the door. As soon as they were alone, Zane shook his head.

“We can’t leave him with Rhys,” Zane said.

“He’s acting off,” Gaige agreed. “Do you think Rhys knows something about what he’s looking for? If he’s ex-Hyperion…and his reaction to the digi-Jacks…”

“That’s what I was thinking. It’s not safe to leave Tim with Rhys,” Zane said.

“He wouldn’t do anything,” Gaige said, but even she sounded uncertain. “Besides, Zer0 can subdue Tim if he needs to. We can leave one of the sedatives with him.”

“Tim won’t go back to Sanctuary. He’ll find an excuse to stay, and even if he does go back, he’d just fast travel here once we were gone,” Zane said. “I think giving Zer0 the sedative is the best choice. We can’t take Tim with us, but maybe we can at least separate him and Rhys to keep things under control. We can question Rhys ourselves when we get back.”

“I’ll take Tim from the room so you can get Rhys out of there,” Gaige said, unlocking the door.

They returned to the office, and Gaige took Tim away under the pretense of discussing a defense strategy if they were ambushed. Zane waited until they were gone before turning to Rhys.

“Nakayama,” he said.

Rhys looked like he was going to be sick, confirming Zane’s thoughts. “What?”

“You know him,” Zane said. “We have reason to believe Tim’s looking for something Nakayama had a hand in, and he suspects you have information on it. Get your arse somewhere else, and let Zer0 stay with Tim.” Zane held the sedative out to Zer0. “This’ll knock him out if he acts up. Gaige will be bloody pissed if you hurt him.”

But Rhys seemed frozen. “He’s…looking for that?”

“What is it?” Zane asked. “And how do you know about it?”

Rhys pressed his palm against his cybernetic eye again, his whole body trembling now. He looked up at Zane, fear radiating off him.

“If he’s looking for it, you can’t trust him,” Rhys said. “You should kill him.”

“Whoa, easy lad,” Zane said, holding up a hand. “He helped the Crimson Raiders take Jack down years ago. What’s this thing he’s lookin’ for, and why’s it so bad that you want him dead for it?”

“He’s the one, isn’t he? The body double they had the rumors about,” Rhys said, and let out that strangled laugh again. “It’s him. The one who was just like Jack. He’s a killer, just like Jack. And he’s here. In my building. My office.”

“Rhys,” Zane said sharply. “What’s Tim after?”

“There isn’t a Tim,” Rhys whispered, tugging at his hair nervously. “There’s just Handsome Jack.”

“Oi, this is getting creepy,” Zane said. “Just tell me what it is.”

But Gaige and Tim returned to the room. Rhys shifted closer to Zer0.

“Ready to go?” Gaige asked.

Zane wasn’t, but if they delayed too long, Tim would get suspicious. Zane had to trust that Zer0 would get Rhys out of there when they left, and keep an eye on Tim.

“Ready,” Zane lied.

“Call us if something happens,” Gaige said to Tim.

“You’re the one going to take on an army,” Tim said.

“Shut up and call me if something happens,” Gaige said. She hesitated before reaching out and lightly punching his good arm. “Stay safe, Timothy.”

They left the office, and Zane hated the bad feeling in his gut. There was nothing to do, though. Bringing Tim would likely result in him losing his arm during the fight. Sending him to Sanctuary meant no one was keeping an eye on him. Leaving him with Zer0, armed with a sedative, was their best option for now.

But Zane didn’t kid himself. When they got back, either Tim would be unconscious after making a move and being stopped by Zer0, or Tim would be gone, armed with dangerous information. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm still set for steady updates for about 3 weeks, but I sort of started a fic for another series that took my attention...But if this story is going to have slower updates I'll be sure to let you guys know! Sorry, other games took my attention once I'd finished the DLC!


	17. Chapter 17

Tim stood in the office, looking out in the hallway as the elevator descended. It announced it was at the ground floor, and Tim mentally thought through the layout. Without the resistance they’d faced on their way in, it wouldn’t take Zane and Gaige long to leave the building.

“Sorry,” he said to Rhys, and gestured to his face. “If you were Hyperion, this can’t be easy.”

Rhys didn’t say anything, just stayed close to Zer0. Zer0 would be a problem.

“Say,” Tim said, looking around the office. “Jack owned Atlas. How’d you end up with it?”

He didn’t remember this man. Which meant there were very few ways this man would’ve gotten into Jack’s office and gotten ownership of Atlas.

Very few people had been allowed access to Jack’s office. Most who entered didn’t leave alive. This man wasn’t one of the ones Jack had given permission to.

“Okay, not in the mood to talk,” Tim said. “Maybe I can fix that.”

He hadn’t even managed to unholster his gun before Zer0 was standing behind him, his sword to Tim’s throat. Tim grinned darkly.

“So predictable,” he said, and jabbed Zer0 with the sedative.

He’d swiped it from Tannis the day before, injecting himself with some to sleep. The rest he’d hidden in his bag.

He knew Zane had given a vial of it to Zer0. He wasn’t stupid. But he also knew that Zer0 would react with his sword if Rhys was in immediate danger.

Tim ducked away from the sword, glad the sedative was fast-acting. Zer0 would be out for hours with how much Tim had just injected him with.

Rhys was trying to make a run for it. Tim swiped his digi-Jacks to life, and Rhys yelled in panic as Blue blocked the doorway. As Rhys stumbled back, Tim caught his shirt and threw him to the ground. He unholstered his gun and calmly pointed it at Rhys’s head.

“Tim,” Jay said. “Tim, you can’t go back from this.”

“I have to know what happened to it,” Tim said, and met Rhys’s eyes. “You found the AI Jack, didn’t you?”

“Not on purpose!” Rhys said, holding his hands up in a show of surrender. “It’s why Helios crashed. He wanted to use me to take control of Hyperion again. I destroyed him.”

“You’re not a very good liar,” Tim said. He gripped Rhys’s hand, slammed it on the ground, and pressed the gun to the base of Rhys’s middle finger. “You can tell me exactly how you found the AI and where it is now, or I can shoot your fingers off one by one, kiddo. Your choice.”

“Nakayama’s ID!” Rhys cried in panic. “I took his ID, I plugged it into my cybernetics to access Hyperion’s database, and I accidentally uploaded the AI into my cybernetics.”

“Doing better,” Tim said, but didn’t remove the gun. “The AI. Was it him? Nakayama couldn’t get it right back when I knew him.”

“It was him,” Rhys said. “He didn’t even realize he was an AI at first. He was so convinced he was the real Handsome Jack. And…he was. It was him right down to the last.”

“So this was around the time Helios was destroyed?” Tim said.

Rhys nodded. “Yes. He put me in charge of Hyperion. We were going to rule it together. Or so he claimed. Then he turned around and wanted to stick some exoskeleton thing in me while I was still alive! He is a freaking psychopath!”

“He is,” Tim echoed.

Rhys froze, his face paling.

“He is,” Tim repeated. “Not ‘he was’. So you didn’t destroy the AI.”

“You have no idea what he’ll do if you release him,” Rhys said.

“I have a few, actually,” Tim said. “Which is exactly why you’re going to tell me where that AI is stored. If you uploaded it to your cybernetics, he was trapped there. Tell me, or I start by prying your eye out.”

“You’re a monster just like him,” Rhys whispered.

“I am,” Tim agreed. “Tell me where it is, or I start shooting.”

“No,” Rhys said, and Tim wondered if he’d just watched this man grow a pair.

“Okay,” Tim said, standing up.

“Uh…okay?” Rhys said.

Tim walked over to Zer0, knelt down, and placed the gun on his head. “Okay. I’ll start with him, see if that gets you opening up.”

“Tim,” Jay said quietly.

“I order the two of you not to speak,” Tim said without taking his eyes off Rhys.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not Zer0,” Rhys said in alarm.

“I’ll start with him. Then I think I’ll track down that girl you have a picture of on your desk. She’s pretty,” Tim said.

“The vault hunters will kill you!” Rhys said.

“They can try,” Tim said. He gave a cold smile. “They killed my two teammates from Elpis. They killed my damn boss. But I’m still here. I’m harder to kill than I look.”

“Elpis,” Rhys said, eyes widening. “You worked with Athena.”

Now Tim narrowed his eyes. “What about her?”

“She helped us back then!” Rhys said. “She’s a friend. If you kill me or them, she’ll come after you. And trust me, that is one scary lady.”

She’d told Tim she’d never heard anything more about Nakayama or the AI Jack. Tim would have to have a little chat with her when he was done here.

“You know who was a scary lady? Aurelia Hammerlock. I shot her in the gut and left her to die the other day,” Tim said. “Do you want me to do that to you? Or him?”

Rhys looked torn. As Tim began to tighten his finger on the trigger, Rhys let out a despaired noise.

“Okay, okay, I’ll tell you! Don’t shoot him!” he said frantically.

Tim stood up and swiped the picture of the girl off Rhys’s desk. He tossed it in his bag and grabbed Rhys by the arm. “You’re going to take me to it, and if you’re lying, I’m going to kill Zer0, and you’re going to wish I killed the girl.”

“Oh, god, Fiona’s going to kill me,” Rhys whispered.

“Try to call for help, I kill them. Try to lie to me, I kill them. Anything less than us, uninterrupted, alone, getting to the cybernetic eye containing Jack, and they die,” Tim said. “Got it, champ?”

“Got it,” Rhys said weakly.

“Let’s go,” Tim said.

Rhys started walking, feeling the press of the gun in his back, the digi-Jacks stone-faced on either side of him. The monster walked behind him, and a wash of icy terror swept through him at the thought of what this man would do with the AI Jack in his murderous hands.

***

“Okay, so, not bad,” Gaige said, blood drying on her arm from where two health kits had healed a gunshot wound. “Those guys sure are a workout.”

“Told ya,” Zane said, rubbing his chest where a health kit had fixed a broken rib. “Fun to take on a crowd of ‘em.”

The elevator dinged and they got out, heading to Rhys’s office. As soon as they were inside, they froze.

“Zer0!” Gaige cried at last, running forward and dropping next to him. She swore loudly, holding up the empty vial. “Tim had a sedative hidden on him. Zer0’s alive.”

“But Tim and Rhys are gone,” Zane said. “Maybe we can track his ECHO?”

“Blue and Jay will block the signal. Tim’s not stupid,” Gaige said, and swore loudly again. “Son of a BITCH. Dammit. What the hell is he after?”

“Whatever it was, it scared Rhys. Rhys said if Tim is after it, then there is no Tim. There’s only Handsome Jack,” Zane said. “Feck. We should’ve…” He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. We did what we did. We need to find them. They might still be in the vicinity. Oh, Lilith is going to kick my arse for this one.”

Gaige took out her ECHO and established a call. Before the other person could say anything, she said, “Promethea. The Atlas HQ. Get here as soon as you can. I need you.”

She put her ECHO away without waiting for a response, and checked Zer0 again. Zane looked over the office carefully.

“There was a picture of a girl there,” Zane said, pointing at the empty spot on the desk. “Guarantee Tim took it to have a hostage against Rhys.”

“Do we know who she was to warn her?” Gaige asked.

Zane shook his head. “Never seen her before. And Zer0 will be out for a while with how much sedative Tim stuck in him.”

“Okay. Okay, Tim has safehouses in Promethea from when he lived here,” Gaige said. “But he knows I know them. Still, it’s something to keep in mind.”

“This is a wild chase,” Zane said, and he didn’t like it. They didn’t know what Tim planned to do with whatever he was after, and they didn’t know how long it’d take him to get his hands on it.

Gaige took her ECHO out again and established another call. “Athena,” she said.

“Gaige,” Athena greeted.

“Tim kidnapped Rhys Strongfork, which is a stupid fucking last name by the way, because he thinks Rhys knows something about whatever he’s looking for,” Gaige said. “What the hell is Tim after?”

Athena had gone silent. Zane almost wondered if she’d hung up.

But then she spoke. “Rhys? He has Rhys?”

“Yes. He sedated Zer0, and took Rhys,” Gaige said.

“Gaige, I…” Athena stopped, took a deep breath. “I lied to him. I did know what happened to what he was after.”

“What?” Gaige said.

“Timothy was after an AI of Handsome Jack. It was supposed to be a way of making Handsome Jack immortal, and Nakayama was working on it ever since we were together on Elpis,” Athena said. “He completed it. Rhys found it. I only found that out later, but Rhys told me he destroyed the AI when it tried to kill him.”

“A perfect AI copy of Handsome Jack,” Gaige said slowly. “Why…I don’t…Why the hell would Tim want that?!”

“To destroy it or release it,” Athena said flatly. “With Timothy, I can’t be sure which he intends.”

“Why did you lie to him?” Gaige said. “Why didn’t you tell him it was destroyed? This could’ve been prevented!”

“Because I knew Timothy’s paranoia wouldn’t allow him to stop until he was certain. It was best if he stumbled around until he hit a dead end in the search,” Athena said. “He caught wind the AI was completed while digging through the crashed Helios station, and approached me about it. I said I didn’t know anything. If I said it was destroyed, he would have hunted down Rhys, and I didn’t trust him not to hurt Rhys and Rhys’s friends for information. I hoped he would give up when Aurelia couldn’t tell him anything. He’d have no more leads to chase.”

“Well now he has Rhys and we don’t know where either of them are, and he’s cracking mentally,” Gaige snapped, and ground her palms against her eyes. “Fuck. Shit. Seven fucking years and Jack still has him.”

“I’m sorry, Gaige,” Athena said. “I’ll come to Promethea and help you search for him. I can contact a few of the people who were involved in everything back then and warn them.”

“He took a picture of a girl on Rhys’s desk. We think he’ll use her to threaten Rhys,” Zane said.

“Understood. I’ll be there soon,” Athena said, and ended the call.

“I really thought…” Gaige shook her head. “Fuck. We need to find him, Zane.”

“Agreed, but that’s easier said than done,” Zane pointed out.

They began to study the office carefully, checking for any possible clues as to where Tim could’ve gone. There was nothing, no mention of an AI and no trail to follow. There’d obviously been a scuffle in the room, but Gaige and Zane couldn’t figure out which way Tim had gone when he left. Gaige even tried going down and asking around, but none of the Atlas soldiers had seen Tim or Rhys.

Gaige sat heavily on Rhys’s desk, her stomach twisted into knots. Was he after this AI to destroy it, or release it?

She hated that, like Athena, she couldn’t be sure which.

“Gaige.”

The voice was breathless but familiar. Gaige got off the desk, marched up to Axton, and threw herself into his arms.

She allowed herself the comfort of his embrace for only a moment before pulling away. “They let you in?”

“When I explained who I was,” he said, looking past her. His eyes widened. “Is Zer0…”

“Alive, but sedated,” Gaige said, and gestured to Zane. “This is Zane. Zane, Axton.” With the introductions out of the way, Gaige quickly explained the situation to Axton.

“Shit,” Axton said when she was done.

“Shit,” Gaige agreed.

“We have no clue where to start lookin’ for him,” Zane said. “This is all going very well, as you can see.”

Gaige’s ECHO pinged with a message and she pulled it out. Her eyes widened, and Zane stepped closer so he could read the screen.

On it was a set of coordinates with the simple message, “Save him”.

“Blue and Jay,” Gaige said, grip tightening on the ECHO. “Either Tim didn’t give them explicit orders to keep their location secret, or they found a loophole in his command.”

“That’s not far from here,” Zane said, checking his map. “Looks like Atlas property.”

“Athena,” Gaige said into her ECHO after bringing up a call. “We have a set of coordinates we think he’s at. Where are you?”

“En route,” Athena said. “Send me the coordinates, and I’ll meet you there.”

“Done,” Gaige said, and ended the call.

She stared at the message again, eyes lingering on “Save him”. Her heart was beating far too fast.

She knew who the “him” was. They weren’t asking her to save Rhys.

Tim had risked his life to save her seven years ago. She’d do anything to save him now. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this angsty mess before the DLC came out in case you can't tell :') maybe someday I'll write something with a more exasperated but less angry Timothy!


	18. Chapter 18

Tim tried to keep his grip on the gun steady as they crept out a back entrance. Blue and Jay followed along as Rhys mumbled to himself in fear.

They left the Atlas building and cautiously walked the streets. Tim didn’t want them to be seen by anyone, but especially not Maliwan. His arm was screaming for relief from the pulled stitches earlier. If he got in a fight now, he’d be in trouble. But he couldn’t let Rhys know.

Rhys led them, the gun jammed against his back encouraging him to keep his feet moving. Whenever he stumbled, Tim caught him with his good arm and shoved him forward again.

“He’ll kill us all,” Rhys said, breaking the silence. “Look what he did to Helios. He crashed Helios. He killed so many people there. Well, uh, I screwed that one up. Big time. But he was behind the bulk of it.”

“Keep walking,” Tim said.

“He-”

“I know what he’s capable of. Keep walking.”

Rhys was sweating and shaking, but he kept moving. Tim turned to face his digi-Jacks.

“Make sure we can’t be tracked,” Tim commanded.

Blue nodded tightly, but was still under orders not to speak. Tim didn’t lift the command. He didn’t need them trying to stop him now. He’d gone too far.

But he had to. He had to.

On they walked, Tim’s nerves growing with each step. He buried them. He couldn’t lose his composure, not now when he was so close.

It felt like years before they reached a building. Rhys looked over his shoulder.

“I need to get my keys,” he said.

“Which pocket are they in?” Tim said.

“Left,” Rhys said.

Tim dug a set of keys out of Rhys’s pocket and placed them in his hands. “Go.”

Rhys moved forward to the door. His hands were shaking so badly that it took a few tries to get the door unlocked. He hesitated with his hand on the handle.

“The girl,” Tim snarled, jabbing the gun into Rhys’s back. “Do you see my face? I’ll do the same to hers.”

Rhys pushed the door open.

They went inside and Rhys flicked on the lights and disarmed a beeping security system. Tim took a quick look around. They appeared to be in Rhys’s home.

Rhys led Tim to a door and unlocked it, opening up to reveal a cellar. Tim saw something flicker behind him and spun, gun pointed steadily.

Jay and Blue stared at him. “What was that?” Tim demanded. “Tell me.”

“Me,” Blue said. “I went into your ECHO to see if the others tried to communicate with you or track you. Nothing. Gaige must’ve known we’d block any attempts.”

Tim turned back to Rhys, but as he turned, Rhys ducked under him and shoved him down the cellar stairs.

Tim howled in pain as he crashed down the stairs, his shoulder screaming in agony. He hit the cellar floor with a hard thump, and laid there as his vision wavered. He clenched his jaw, slamming a fist into the ground. He would not faint. He could not faint.

“Stop him!” he cried hoarsely.

Blue flickered in his vision and he tried to focus his gaze. “Don’t let him…don’t let him get away,” Tim panted.

“Jay’s got him,” Blue assured. “Tim, your stitches pulled. You’re losing a lot of blood already. Please, let me call the others to get you help.”

“No,” Tim said, pushing himself up and jamming his good arm in his mouth to stifle his cry of pain. Blood soaked his shirt.

He forced himself to his feet, swaying unsteadily as his vision wavered again. He closed his eyes tightly, took a few deep breaths, and opened them. He started for the stairs, realized how daunting the task looked, and reconsidered.

“Jay, bring him down here,” he ordered.

It was a moment before Rhys was led down the stairs, Jay pointing his laser at Rhys’s head. Tim had to make this fast. The digi-Jacks had been idle enough that the battery wasn’t in immediate danger, but he needed them now to control Rhys.

“The girl,” Tim snarled. “You try one more fucking thing like that, kiddo, and I go kill Zer0 and find that girl.”

Rhys had his hands up in surrender, looking terrified. “You can’t release him.”

“Where’s the eye?” Tim snapped, his patience gone. And a fair amount of his blood gone, too.

Rhys eyed Tim’s injury, but Tim snapped his fingers to get Rhys’s attention. “Even if I lose consciousness, you’ve still got them to deal with.”

Rhys looked at the digi-Jacks and his shoulders slumped. “You’re dooming us all,” Rhys choked out.

“The eye,” Tim said, and jammed his gun up under Rhys’s chin.

Rhys held his hands up again and slowly walked towards the wall. He reached out, feeling along it until a small section popped open. Tim watched Rhys reach inside and gingerly pull out a small, locked safe.

He pressed his thumb to a pad on the safe and entered a code. The little door swung open.

Before Rhys could do anything else, Tim holstered his gun and snatched the box from him. Jay kept his laser raised to keep Rhys from striking at Tim.

“Oh my freaking god Fiona is going to kill me,” Rhys groaned. “No, Jack will. Or you. You know what? I’m going to die. That’s the point here. Shit. Goddammit.”

Tim knelt on the ground and pulled out the cybernetic eye stored inside the safe. He stared at it, his chest suddenly tight. His breathing came harsh and hitched.

“Tim,” Blue said quietly, kneeling beside him. “Timothy, it’s been seven years.”

“And he’s still here,” Tim said, his voice shaking.

“No, he’s not.”

Tim startled. He hadn’t heard anyone enter or come down the stairs.

But there stood Gaige, with Zane, Axton, and Athena behind her.

“Athena, thank god, oh god, kill him before you kill me,” Rhys said, slumping against the wall in relief.

“Rhys,” Athena said coldly. “You told me you destroyed the AI.”

“And you told me you didn’t know about it!” Tim said, aware his voice was climbing towards hysteria. “He was out there this whole time and you lied to me, Athena.”

“Timothy, give me the eye,” Athena said.

Tim curled his fingers around it.

“Timothy,” Gaige said, meeting his eyes. “Let me take the eye, and get you some medical attention. If you hand that thing over, we’ll destroy it and this can all go away. You didn’t hurt anyone.”

“I think Zer0 and I might have some input on that matter,” Rhys said.

“Zer0 was just sedated. He’s unharmed,” Gaige said, not taking her eyes off Tim. “Timothy, this doesn’t have to damn you. You can hand that over and this all goes away.”

“How did you…?” Tim’s face paled and he looked at his digistructs.

Blue didn’t look ashamed. “You ordered me not to let them track you. You didn’t order me not to give them coordinates.”

“Blue,” Tim said, unable to hide his hurt.

“You need help,” Blue said softly. “Give them the eye.”

“No,” Tim said. “I have to be the one to destroy it. I have to make sure he…he can’t…” Tim’s grip on the eye tightened. “It has to be me.”

“You wanted to destroy it?” Rhys said in disbelief.

Tim uncurled his fingers and stared at the eye. He did want to destroy it. But he wanted answers first.

“I need…there’s got to be a safe way to contain the AI to get some answers, and then destroy it permanently,” Tim said.

“There’s not,” Rhys said flatly.

“Tim, let’s destroy it and go,” Gaige said.

“You might, ah, need a few stitches, boyo,” Zane said, nodding to Tim’s blood-soaked shirt.

But Tim had a plan. “Gaige, please. I was exploring the remains of Helios, and I found one of Jack’s private servers. It’s disconnected from the rest of the ECHOnet, and all of Hyperion’s databases. He used it to store top-secret projects only. I can plug the AI into that, he’ll be trapped, and I can get my answers and destroy it.”

“What answers could you possibly need, Timothy? He’s been gone seven years,” Athena said, her voice sharp.

“The bomb,” Tim said, his voice nearly a whisper. Gaige stepped a little closer.

“The bomb?” she repeated. When he nodded, she furrowed her brow for a moment before understanding lit her face. “Your face.”

“If I know what he did to my face, maybe I can…” He couldn’t remember what he used to look like. He missed his freckles, but the rest was a blur. He really couldn’t imagine himself with any other face after so long. With the scar on his face, he’d never have his old face back. But maybe he could alter himself just enough that he could blend back in to society in some capacity. Maybe someday, he’d be brave enough to stop looking like Handsome Jack. He wanted the option.

“It’s not safe,” Athena said.

“Can you blame him?” Zane said, surprising Tim. “Lad’s almost been killed plenty of times because of that face.”

“What if it goes wrong?” Gaige said, and Tim’s heart beat harder with hope.

“Keep the majority of him trapped in the eye. Destroy the eye, it destroys Jack,” Tim said.

“No, no, no. Do NOT go releasing that thing!” Rhys said in panic.

“Then why’d you keep it, Rhys?” Athena asked.

“I…I don’t know,” Rhys admitted. “But I planned to keep it locked away. Releasing the AI is too dangerous.”

“Tim’s got a point,” Gaige said. “We destroy the eye, and the AI is gone.” She looked troubled, though. “Tim, let me do it. I’ll ask the AI, and then you can destroy it.”

“It has to be me,” Tim insisted.

“It doesn’t,” Gaige said. “Fuck that, Timothy. It doesn’t have to be you, and it shouldn’t be you. Not after what he did to you before you escaped.”

“Gaige, I need to do this,” Tim said. “I need to.”

“Quite frankly, Timmy, I don’t think any of us trust you around Jack, even in an AI form,” Zane said, and Gaige dug an elbow into his gut. “Well we don’t!”

Tim swayed and had to steady himself by bracing his good arm against the wall. Blue hovered at his side.

“You’re losing too much blood,” he said.

“Tim, give them the eye and go get medical care,” Jay said anxiously.

“Give me a health kit,” Tim said to Gaige.

Gaige took one out and approached Tim. He let her, and she stuck the health kit in his shoulder.

“It’ll help, but you need to go to medical,” she said. “Please, Tim. Give me the eye.”

He shook his head, and swayed again with the movement. “No. I need to do this, Gaige. He’s haunted me for seven years. Let me finish this.”

Gaige looked torn. She knew Tim had been haunted by Jack all this time. But she couldn’t see how facing him again would make it any better. It would just be more of Jack belittling and threatening Tim. She couldn’t understand how he would get any closure.

But then his expression broke, and he began to tremble, breathing unsteady. “Gaige, please. I ran away from him last time. I need to know I’m not his anymore.”

Gaige didn’t know what he’d do if he faced Jack and found that he was still Jack’s.

Tim gripped his bleeding shoulder and grit his teeth in pain. “Gaige, I need you to trust me.”

She looked around the room, at all the distrustful expressions. No one ever gave him a chance. They saw his face, heard his voice, and assumed he was just Handsome Jack.

“We go with you,” she said at last. “Zane, Axton, and I go with you.”

Tim nodded and winced, pulling his hand away from his shoulder and looking down at the eye again. “Okay.”

“No!” Rhys said in alarm.

“This is a bad idea,” Athena said.

“I need to get him to Tannis,” Gaige said, steadying Tim as he swayed again. “Axton, Zane, with me.”

“Gaige-” Athena started angrily.

“Athena, maybe you can ask our friend Rhys here on why he kept such a dangerous AI in his cellar all these years,” Gaige said, helping Tim forward. “Jesus, Tim, what the hell even happened to your shoulder?”

“Rhys pushed me down the freaking stairs,” Tim grumbled.

“You kidnapped me and threatened my friends!” Rhys cried.

Tim reached in his bag and tossed the picture of the girl to Rhys. “I never planned to hurt anyone. I just needed to make sure the eye got destroyed by me.”

“Timothy!” Athena said. “Just destroy it. Don’t even take the risk.”

“You got to walk away, Athena,” Tim snapped. “I had his face. His voice. I was under contract. I had a damn bomb in my face. I couldn’t walk away, and when I tried, he branded me and tortured me. You have no idea what Handsome Jack did to me. If you think I’m going to release him back into the world, you underestimate how much of a freaking chode I think he is.”

“A lovely speech,” Gaige said, and staggered a little as Tim nearly fell. “Shit, Axton, help.”

Zane stepped up before Axton could, and lifted Tim’s weight off Gaige. “Alrighty, let’s get back to Sanctuary. Honestly, let’s just move you right into medical. You’re a bloody injury magnet.”

“Piss off, grandpa,” Tim said, but his words were starting to slur.

They hauled Tim out of the cellar and dragged him to the nearest fast travel station. He seemed determined to keep a hold on the eye, and Gaige didn’t dare try to take it away from him. If he started fighting back, he’d just worsen his injury.

“What happened to his shoulder?” Axton asked, voice low as they walked along.

“Aurelia Hammerlock nearly severed it from his body with ice,” Gaige said.

“…Ice?”

“Really, really sharp ice.”

Axton shook his head. “Sounds like you guys have had a more interesting time than me lately.”

“Gaige,” Tim said, struggling to speak. “Gaige don’t…take it…don’t let them…”

“I won’t,” Gaige said, though reluctantly.

“I trust you,” Tim mumbled, and lost consciousness.

Zane sighed. “And we were so close to the fast travel.”

Gaige stepped forward and uncurled Tim’s fingers, taking the eye and carefully tucking it into his pocket. She looked to his digi-Jacks.

“Did he really intend to destroy it?” she asked.

Jay nodded. “This whole time.”

“I don’t like this plan of his,” Blue said. “He could get closure, sure. Or he could fall under Jack’s influence and be traumatized all over again.”

“It starts to go south, I destroy the eye,” Gaige said firmly. “He can hate me for the rest of eternity. I won’t let that monster dig his way back into Tim’s mind.”

“He never left Tim’s mind,” Jay said bitterly.

Axton helped Zane carry Tim to the nearest fast travel station. The digi-Jacks took one last look at Tim before disappearing into the watch.

They fast traveled to Sanctuary and carried Tim to medical. Tannis seemed unsurprised to see Tim had torn his injury back open.

“Luckily, it was healed enough that there shouldn’t any permanent damage,” she said as she cut his shirt away from his body and inspected the wound. “Recovery time will go up exponentially. Honestly though, how is this man still alive with how often he gets his ass kicked?”

“I was wondering the same!” Zane said.

“Just heal him,” Gaige said, looking exhausted as she took the seat next to Tim’s bed. Axton put a hand on her shoulder.

She was grateful he was here, and grateful Zane stayed in the room with them as Tannis tended to Tim’s injury. She was going to need both of them to get through what was coming next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should've just made the title of this story "Timothy Lawrence Makes Bad Decisions A Lot"


	19. Chapter 19

Tannis kept Tim sedated for an entire day. Gaige had to deal with the fallout of Tim’s actions when Rhys contacted Lilith about it, but he left out the eye and the AI Jack, which saved Gaige one headache, at least. Rhys seemed reluctant to admit to Lilith that he’d kept a form of Jack alive all these years.

Gaige also had to deal with a lengthy ECHO call from Athena detailing everything wrong with allowing Tim access to the AI Jack. There was no changing Athena’s mind on the matter, so Gaige let her get it out of her system before excusing herself from the conversation and proceeding to ignore all calls from Athena.

Zer0 was okay, though he certainly wasn’t Tim’s biggest fan. Gaige assured him that Tim had quite literally gotten a taste of his own medicine as Tannis injected another dose into Tim to keep him out.

Sleep was the last thing on Gaige’s mind, but she found herself losing consciousness as she laid her head against Axton’s shoulder. Axton shifted her into one of the spare beds in medical, pulling a blanket over her and taking a seat between her bed and Tim’s.

“How well did you know him?” Zane asked, nodding to Tim.

“Not well. He saved my life at Opportunity, which kicked this whole thing off,” Axton said. “I never trusted him as much as Gaige did, but he never betrayed her and I have to give him that.”

“He’s traumatized,” Zane said. “I don’t know if this is such a good idea. But I suppose the lad has a right to try and get his face back as much as he can.”

“I don’t like this,” Axton said.

“Makes two of us, but I sure as hell won’t be the one to tell Gaige no once she’s made up her mind,” Zane said.

Axton frowned. “Good point.”

There was nothing much to do. They took turns leaving to shower and change, and Zane let himself rest for a bit. When he woke up, Gaige was still out, and Axton was reading a magazine.

Gaige didn’t wake for another hour, and once she was up, the three killed time with card games. Tannis checked Tim’s vitals and announced she was going to stop sedating him and let him wake.

“Try not to let him tear his arm open again,” she said as she left.

“Idiot,” Gaige said to Tim’s unconscious form.

They sent Axton to bring them a meal, and Zane checked in with his teammates to see how they were doing. They ended up playing more card games, until Tim began to shift around.

He cracked his eyes open, tried to sit up, and winced. Gaige pulled her chair closer to his bed.

“Tim?” she asked.

“Where…?” Tim rubbed his eyes with his good hand and looked around. He slumped back against the pillows. “Shit. I’m getting really sick of this room.”

“Then stop being an idiot,” she said.

His eyes widened, and Gaige grabbed his wrist, guiding his hand to his pocket. He felt the eye there, and relaxed.

“How long have I been out?” he asked.

“Little over a day,” Zane said. “Tannis drugged your stubborn arse so she could heal you.”

“Don’t feel healed,” Tim grunted, rubbing his shoulder and wincing.

“Stop touching it,” Gaige said, whacking his good shoulder. “You’re like a little kid sometimes, I swear.”

She and Zane reached out and helped Tim sit up. He checked himself for any other injuries from falling down the stairs, but found none. Health kits must’ve fixed him up while he was out.

“Tell me more about this Helios plan of yours,” Gaige said.

“I was exploring Helios a while back, and I found one of Jack’s private servers. Only I can access it, now that Jack is gone, which is why no one else found it,” Tim said. “Jack had several of them to store top-secret projects on. Completely cut off so no one could hack them.”

“You’re positive?” Gaige said.

Tim nodded. “I stored things on them a few times for Jack. Trust me, no one could get into them. The AI will be contained.”

“A few companies have servers like that,” Zane said. “Even I could never figure out how to get information off of them without just kidnapping whoever was in charge of it and forcing them to extract the data.”

“Only Jack and I had access to them,” Tim said. “There were ones I didn’t even know about.” Tim stared down at his hands. “It’ll be like…like a video chat. That’s all.”

“I stay with you,” Gaige said firmly.

“Me too,” Zane said, surprising both of them. “What? I’m curious.”

“Axton will guard the room to make sure nothing comes after us,” Gaige said.

“Guard duty,” Axton said miserably.

“You might get to kill scavengers,” Gaige said.

“Guard duty,” Axton said brightly.

Tim was rubbing at the band of his watch, looking anxious. He wanted to get this over with.

“Let’s go,” Gaige said, standing up. “Tim, are you okay to move?”

“Yes,” Tim said immediately, struggling to get out of bed. His shoulder was pained, but he needed to do this before the anxiety killed him.

Gaige passed him a shirt and he struggled to get it on. She handed him his pistol, which he holstered and then traced his fingers against.

“I’ll be there,” she assured him, placing a hand on his arm.

“I know,” he said gratefully.

The door to medical opened and Lilith strode in. Tim straightened up. He should’ve figured he’d have to pay for his actions.

“Timothy,” Lilith said.

Gaige shot Tim a quick, discreet look. Tim had worked with her long enough to know the warning in it. Lilith didn’t know the full story of what he’d done.

But Tim didn’t know what version of the story Lilith had. So he stayed quiet, waiting to see how she would play this out.

“You kidnapped Rhys,” she said at last. “All because you suspected he had something you wanted.”

Tim chose his words carefully. Lilith didn’t appear to know about the AI Jack, and he wanted to keep it that way. There was no way she would let him speak with the AI.

“I thought he had sensitive Hyperion information,” he said. “I never planned to hurt him. Just bluff threats until I had destroyed it.”

“You sedated Zer0,” she said.

“I like to think I humbled him a bit,” Tim said, and winced when Gaige elbowed him in the ribs.

“Lilith, we’ve talked about it,” Gaige said, and put a hand on Tim’s good shoulder. “We’ll be leaving you guys soon.”

“I know I was reckless,” Tim said. “We’ll be out of your hair soon.”

Lilith looked at all of them and gave a slow nod. “I think that’s for the best.”

“We’re going to secure a place to stay,” Gaige lied. “Then I just want Timothy healed up as much as Tannis can, and we’ll be gone.”

“Alright,” Lilith agreed. “But you try pulling something like that again, Timothy, and I’ll lock you up for it.”

Tim stiffened a little, remembering all the times Jack had locked him up for misbehaving. He forced himself to ground out, “Understood.”

Lilith left the room, and Gaige squeezed Tim’s shoulder before dropping her hand. She moved for the door.

“Come on, Tim,” she said.

Tim still felt groggy from all the sedation, but he rubbed at his eyes and followed Gaige. Axton and Zane trailed along after him.

They went to the fast travel station and Gaige set their coordinates. The sensation of fast travel washed over him and he closed his eyes, only opening them once he was solidly on the ground outside the ruins of Helios.

He’d explored it on his own a few months back, finally working up the courage. He’d gone into his and Jack’s apartment, left untouched since only he and Jack had access to it through their fingerprints. He’d found some clothing, cash, weapons, and whatever else they’d left behind. He’d kept some of it here just in case.

It was during that exploration that he discovered Nakayama had finished the project. He’d found a deeply encrypted file on Jack’s personal server, and spent several days getting into the file. It was there that he learned Nakayama had finished the AI project, but Tim hadn’t been able to find the location of the project or Nakayama himself.

And now he was here, with the AI in his pocket.

“Ready?” Gaige asked him.

Tim took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready.”

“Weapons out. This place is a haven for scavengers and squatters,” Zane said, sliding his gun into his hand.

“Plenty of loaders still milling about, too,” Tim cautioned, swiping his watch to bring forth his digi-Jacks. “Some register me as Handsome Jack and obey me, but some were made after his death and don’t register him as an overriding authority.”

They entered the ruins of Helios. Tim’s heart squeezed at the sight of the destroyed place.

He’d spent years of his life on Helios, always by Jack’s side. Some days he dreamed of escaping the station, but as time went on, he’d come to think of it as his home.

“Ah, this place,” Zane said, looking around. “Pulled some jobs for Hyperion. Never did like when it involved me going to Helios. Those bastards did that weird finger-gun fighting.”

“God, that was the worst,” Tim groaned.

“Tim, let us check the server before you upload the AI,” Jay said. “Just to be safe.”

“Sure,” Tim said. He’d rather be as cautious as possible than risk the AI escaping. As long as they destroyed the eye, though, the AI would be gone for good.

“This place gave me the creeps last time we were here,” Axton said. “Hasn’t changed.”

“Come on,” Tim said, leading them through the building and up to where his and Jack’s apartment was. He used his fingerprints to grant him access to the room, but Blue grabbed his shoulder before he could enter. Tim didn’t look at the digi-Jack. “That’ll waste your battery.”

Blue dropped his hand. “Why are you going in here? This isn’t the server room.”

“No, but I stored corrosive weapons in here,” Tim said, stepped into the apartment. “I want to give one to Axton in case any loaders come at us while he’s guarding the room.”

“I don’t have anything corrosive with me,” Axton said, following Tim into the room and looking around. “What is this place?”

“It was our apartment,” Tim said.

Zane let out a whistle as he took in the place. “Handsome Jack sure liked to live in style, eh?”

“Sure did,” Tim mumbled, kneeling in front of a cabinet and putting in the passcode to open the door there. He took out one of the corrosive assault rifles and passed it to Axton before shutting the cabinet and getting up. He didn’t look over at the bedrooms. He didn’t want to think of the times he’d been locked in his room, or the time he’d spent lying on his bed recovering from one of Jack’s punishments.

“Let’s go,” Jay said tightly, taking in the sudden spike in Tim’s heartrate. “There’s nothing else you need here.”

“I know,” Tim said.

Gaige only hovered in the doorway, watching Tim. Tim left, the others following him, and he shut the door once the apartment was empty of people. He kept his hand on the handle for another beat before releasing it.

“Timmy,” Zane said, holding out a hand to stop Tim from walking down the hallway. “Are you sure you can handle this?”

“Zane,” Gaige said sharply.

“I’m not going to baby him, Gaige.” Zane turned his full attention on Tim. “I heard the stories about Handsome Jack. He kept you alive all that time, but I’m willin’ to bet that he wasn’t exactly gentle with you. You may never fully recover from what he did. Seeing him again might not be for the best.”

“I need to do it,” Tim stressed. “I can’t…I can’t keep going on like this. Sometimes I’m Tim, sometimes I’m Jack, and sometimes I don’t know who the hell I am. This is my last chance to show myself that I’m not Handsome Jack’s anymore.”

“Then you need to be ready for the reality that you might still be his,” Zane said simply.

Tim winced. “I know. But…I have to do this.”

“Then we keep moving,” Zane said. Tim stared at him in surprise and Zane laughed. “Oi, boyo, don’t go looking so surprised. I get it. You think being a Flynt doesn’t come without a cost? You make something for yourself and live with it. I get it.”

“He’s a Flynt?” Axton whispered to Gaige in alarm.

“Do not tell him we murdered his family,” Gaige hissed back.

They proceeded through Helios, following Tim and his digi-Jacks. They encountered some bandits trying to scavenge the place, but took them out quickly. A few loaders wouldn’t listen to Tim’s commands, and Axton took them out with the corrosive assault rifle. The digi-Jacks kept Tim guarded so he didn’t have to worry about his shoulder.

Finally, Tim stopped in front of a secluded room. It was down a confusing twist of hallways, but Tim had found it easily.

He reached out, placing his hand against the scanner next to the door. It read his handprint, and then he stepped forward, letting it scan his blue eye.

“Handsome Jack recognized,” an automatic voice announced, and the door slid open.

Tim entered the small room with Gaige and Zane, while Axton stood in front of the door with his weapon ready. Blue stepped forward and reached out to touch the computer in the room, disappearing in a flash of blue.

Tim pulled the eye from his pocket with a trembling hand. He stared down at it, wondering if he’d grown at all since leaving Handsome Jack.

“There’s still time to back out,” Gaige said.

Tim shook his head. “That was never an option.”

Blue reappeared after a few minutes and nodded reluctantly. “It’s isolated. No connection outside of this room. Tim-”

“Go back in the watch,” Tim ordered. As much as he wanted them beside him right now, he wouldn’t risk them.

“You’re Timothy Lawrence,” Jay said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Remember what you said when you refused to kill the lost legion soldier all those years ago?” Blue said. “’I’m not you, Jack’. That’s what you told him. Remember that, Timothy.”

And they disappeared with a flash of color.

Tim touched the band of his watch, took a deep breath, and stepped up to the computer. Zane and Gaige flanked him.

Tim connected the eye to the computer.

The screen flickered to life, and Tim’s heartrate skyrocketed as an image appeared.

It could’ve been Blue. Except the AI before him wore Jack’s mask.

The AI seemed surprised and confused, looking around the monitor, not seeming to notice the little group before him. He held his hands up and inspected them before pushing against the monitor. He finally noticed them, and stared at Tim’s face for a long moment.

“Finally!” he said, and hearing his voice spooked Tim so badly that he winced. “God, I was so sick of being stuck in that friggin’ eye! Tell me Rhys is dead, Timmy.”

Tim opened his mouth, but it had gone dry. No words would come forward.

Jack touched his head and groaned a little. “Shit, how long has it been?” Then his eyes widened a little before narrowing. “Timmy, what’s that bandit doing with you?” He took in Tim’s expression and gave a cold grin. “Oh, Timmy, don’t tell me you still think you’re theirs.”

“He sure as hell isn’t yours,” Gaige snapped.

“Isn’t he?” Jack looked smug now. But there was a spark of rage that Tim could detect from years of facing it. “Tim, you really pissed me off, you know that? I freaking trusted you, and you betrayed me.” He slammed a fist against the monitor, which made Tim wince again.

Tim felt his breathing hitch, and he curled his fingers, digging his nails into his palms to steady himself. He reached up, and dug his fingers into the wound on his shoulder.

The pain was sharp, blinding. He went rigid under his own touch, and pictured the Gaige from his nightmare. The Gaige floating dead outside, green eyes looking to him, hand outstretched.

“Jack,” Tim said at last. His voice was weak, but at least he could speak again. “My face. What did you plant in my face?”

“Explosives, kiddo,” Jack said. “You try to change that handsome face, and it’ll be a pretty bad time for you.”

“How do I remove them?” Tim asked. He swallowed hard, and hid inside himself, dragging out the Handsome Jack façade he’d been battling so hard to escape. He needed it now, just one more time. “It’s over, champ. You’re…You’re dead. You’re dead. So tell me how to remove that shit from my face.”

Jack’s eyes lit up in amusement. “So tough and scary,” he mocked. “I’m not telling you that, Timmy. Not after what you pulled.” He eyed Tim carefully again, taking in every little bit of him, and a smile stretched across his face, chilling. “What happened to your friggin’ arm?”

“Aurelia stabbed me before I killed her,” Tim said.

“She’s dead too?” Jack didn’t seem particularly bothered. He was still smiling, satisfaction in his expression now. “Guess those bandit buddies of yours will be next. You were never theirs.”

“They’re my friends,” Tim said, his words firm despite the tremble in his voice.

Jack leaned closer. “Then why do you still look like me?”

Tim’s breathing hitched again. He dug his hand into his wound to steady himself, but it didn’t help. Of course he’d known all along that he still feared Jack. It’s why he hadn’t changed his appearance much, and why he cut his hair and changed his clothes to look more like Jack when he found out about the AI.

Such a damn coward.

“Timothy,” Zane said, voice sharp. “Boyo, get ahold of yourself.” He knocked his knuckles against the monitor. “He’s trapped in there. Like you said, just a video chat.”

Tim couldn’t seem to get his breathing under control. What had he been thinking? He’d never truly been free. Maybe he never truly would.

“Aw- look what you did,” Jack said in irritation. “You damn bandits went and broke one of my favorite toys. Now I need to fix him.”

Fix him.

Tim couldn’t get air into his lungs.

Gaige caught him before he could sink to his knees. She dug her fingers into his good shoulder, trying to steady him.

“Breathe,” she said. “Breathe, Timothy. He can’t hurt you. He can’t hurt you.”

Jack laughed, the sound ringing out in the room. Even Axton looked back unsteadily.

“You really believe that, huh, kiddo?” Jack said, looking too pleased. “You thought you were so smart, bringing me to an isolated network for a chat. But you forgot that Hyperion is mine.”

Jack flickered off the monitor.

Tim’s eyes widened as he managed to suck in a terrified breath. The eye. He’d connected it and put it back in his pocket. He could destroy it if Jack tried anything. He wouldn’t let Jack hurt Gaige. He wouldn’t let Jack hurt any of them.

“Oh no,” Zane said, his eyes going wide as realization hit him. “Tim, your wa-”

Before he could finish, Blue burst from the watch. He turned to face Tim and Gaige.

“Hyperion tech, kiddo,” Blue said, and struck Tim so hard that his head struck the wall, dazing him.

“Tim, the eye!” Gaige in panic, trying to shield him from the digistruct Jack now controlled. “Destroy the eye!”

Spots danced across Tim’s vision as he tried to register her words. The blue digistruct flickered, and horror rose on his face.

“Tim, hurry!” he said desperately. “I can’t-” He flickered again, and now he looked annoyed. “Messing with the codes I put on my stuff, Timmy? We’ll fix it, don’t worry.”

“Stay away from him,” Gaige snarled, pulling out her gun. “Don’t think I won’t shoot his watch. I don’t care if it costs him his hand; it’s better than letting you touch him.”

Jack laughed, moving forward. “Do what you want. I already have what I need.”

“Gaige!” Axton said in alarm, gunfire starting up from his position. “The loaders! They’re converging on our position!”

“Tim, the fucking eye!” Gaige said, shielding his body with hers as Jack got even closer. “This ends if you break the eye!”

Zane hurried to the door with his gun, and realized just how fucked they were.

Loaders were moving at them, too many for just the three of them to take out. Without Tim’s digi-Jacks, and with his arm too injured to shoot, they’d never make it out of here alive.

Jack ignored Gaige and knelt beside Tim as Zane and Axton tried to thin the crowd of loaders. Tim stared at Jack in terror.

“Get up,” Jack commanded. Tim didn’t move. Jack grabbed his hair and yanked him to his feet. “I know it’s been a while, Timmy, but you’re mine and you listen to me.”

Tim couldn’t move. He could feel the weight of the eye in his pocket, but his body wouldn’t respond. He couldn’t take his eyes off Jack.

He’d taken control of Blue’s body, so he looked like Tim’s trusted companion, but the expression on his face was twisted and wrong. It promised pain and obedience.

Jack yanked Tim forward by his hair, and shot his laser at Gaige when she tried to reach for Tim. It hit her shield, and she stumbled back with the force of it.

“No!” Tim said.

“Gaige!” Axton said, stumbling into the room as the loaders reached their position. “Gaige, we need to get the hell out of here!”

“Bloody bastard is messing with the communications. I can’t reach the others for backup,” Zane said.

Gaige summoned Deathtrap, but the first of the loaders were already crowding into the small room. Three of them were moving towards Tim.

“You’re not taking him,” Gaige said, blasting her shotgun at the closest one.

“You touch that eye, and I blow up the watch. You lose your digistructs and your hand,” Jack warned as Tim reached for his pocket.

“You’re going to take them from me anyways,” Tim whispered, body trembling. Jack would alter the programming on Blue and Jay. He would lose his digital companions either way. At least this way, they didn’t have to suffer first. At least this way, he could still save Gaige, Axton, and Zane.

But Jack gripped his wrist before he could reach his pocket. A loader fired on him, his shields absorbing the blows.

“Take him down,” Jack commanded.

The room was too small for all of them. Zane had slipped out, attacking the loaders from outside the room while his SNTNL zipped around the room, firing on them. Deathtrap had accidentally pinned Gaige to the wall in an attempt to protect her. Axton didn’t have enough room to deploy his turret, and he was trying to hold his own by maneuvering around unpredictably.

Tim cried out as the loader shattered his shields. He tried to pry his arm free of Jack’s grip, but he wasn’t fast enough.

“Knock him out and let’s get going. I have plans for him,” Jack told the closest loader.

Tim tried to duck, but Jack held him up long enough for the loader to strike Tim into unconsciousness. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to upload this today!!


	20. Chapter 20

Gaige couldn’t get off the wall. Deathtrap was taking the shots for her so her shield didn’t burst, but she was also trapped and couldn’t get to Tim.

She saw the loader strike him, saw him go down in a heap of dead weight. Saw Jack laugh as the loader lifted Tim into its arms and headed for the exit.

“Axton!” she cried. “Axton, get Tim! He has the eye!”

But Axton couldn’t get to the loader as he was crowded away towards Gaige. The loader left the small room unchallenged.

Until it stepped outside.

Zane was right there, bashing his gun against its leg and shooting at the joints of the arms holding Tim. One of the arms broke off and Tim fell to the ground.

“Watch the goods, grandpa,” Jack said in annoyance as two more loaders approached. One blocked Zane while the other lifted Tim, abandoning the damaged loader.

Zane ducked around one, trying to get a grip on Tim. If he could just get the eye, they could end all of this.

But then Jack slammed into him, and he fell against a loader that blasted right through his shield and managed to injure his side. Zane hissed in pain, but used the momentum of the blast to spin himself away and fire on the loader.

He stayed as close to Tim as he could while firing on the ones coming after him. Jack tried to mess him up, but he ignored him, calling his SNTNL over for extra backup.

“This one’s kind of interesting,” Jack said thoughtfully. “Hey! Take him too.”

Jack suddenly appeared behind him and dug his hand into Zane’s wound. Zane reluctantly dropped to one knee as the pain rocked his body. He managed to take out three more loaders even through the haze of pain before one cracked him in the side of the head.

He hit the ground hard and scrambled for his gun as even as his vision wavered. He tried to switch places with his clone, but cursed as he realized his clone was recharging.

A loader grabbed him and he let it lift him before jamming the butt of his gun into its eye. It dropped him and he fell to the ground, wincing as pain rocked his body again. He tried to get to his feet, but Jack fired his lasers, causing Zane’s shield to deplete at an alarming rate.

Zane dove for cover behind a broken loader, but another caught him and used his momentum to fling him into the wall. As Zane hit the ground, Jack pixelated in front of him, smiling broadly.

“Enjoy the nap, champ!” he said, and gripped Zane’s head, slamming it into the wall. Zane slumped over, and a loader lifted his unresponsive form.

“I want those other two alive and locked up,” Jack said as he walked between the loaders carrying his prizes.

The loaders converged on the small room the two vault hunters were trapped inside, and Jack grinned. Fools.

***

“Gaige? Gaige!”

Gaige cracked her eyes open, and Axton loomed over her. He looked relieved to see her conscious.

“Finally,” he said, helping her sit up. She winced and he let her lean against him. “We’re running low on health kits, but if you need another, you can have it.”

“What happened?” Gaige groaned, pressing a hand to her aching head.

“We got overwhelmed. I switched to a nova shield,” Axton reminded her. “The blast cut down their numbers, but it also damaged you.”

“Right. Shit. Next time I say that’s a good plan just…don’t listen to me,” Gaige said, and Axton helped her to her feet. Her eyes widened as she looked at the destroyed loaders littering the ground. “Tim and Zane?”

Axton grimaced. “Gone. We have no communication, and Jack seems to have put the place on lockdown. I doubt we’ll be able to get out.”

Shit. They needed backup.

“Okay. Okay, let’s assume Jack can control any Hyperion-made thing,” Gaige said, trying to think past the throbbing in her temples. “He has control of the loaders, the station, and Tim’s watch. This place is pretty busted up, but there’s still a lot of weapons he could access. But he’s likely trapped here for now. He took control of Tim’s watch, but he’s still tied to the eye.”

“We’re also trapped here for now,” Axton pointed out. “We have no idea where Jack took them. Helios is a big place.”

“Tim’s apartment,” Gaige said. “Or somewhere else only Jack can access. We won’t be able to get in, so it’s the perfect place to hold them captive.”

“Alright, but that doesn’t help us because, uh, we won’t be able to get in,” Axton said.

“I know, but if we can find their location, it’s a start,” Gaige said. “This place is still just a structure. We can take it down.”

“Great, we’ll just blow the place to hell and hope we don’t get buried in the process,” Axton said.

“You got a better plan?” Gaige asked.

“Honestly? Nope,” Axton said. “We should assume some of the security systems are still working. He might be able to monitor us.”

“We’re in for a fight. I owe you big time,” Gaige said.

“If we make it out of this alive, you sure as shit do,” Axton said, grinning a little despite the blood drying on his clothes. “Now, we have a problem.”

“Which is?”

“The loaders. I kind of…barricaded the door to keep more from coming in.”

“So we have a whole horde of loaders waiting outside for us?”

“Likely.”

Gaige lifted her gun. “So, so big time, Axton.”

“Hope you can buy out the damn bar,” Axton said, also lifting his gun.

They approached the door, and got ready for a fight.

***

“Tim. Tiiiiiiim.”

Someone was slapping his cheek. Tim groaned a little, turning his head away.

“Tim!”

Tim’s eyes snapped open. The world spun a little before steadying, and he swallowed against the nausea rising in him. He looked up.

“Blue?” he mumbled.

“Blue? You named the damn thing Blue?” Blue said, and Tim realized with a jolt of horror that it wasn’t actually Blue. “What, you name the other one Red?”

“Jack,” Tim whispered in fear.

“Bingo, kiddo,” Jack said, spreading his arms. “See, I’m still technically trapped in that freaking eye thanks to Rhys, but I can put my mind into any Hyperion tech. So your little plan? Pretty stupid.”

Tim tried to get up, but realized he was restrained. He was tied with chains to a structure in their apartment, his ankles bound together with chain as well.

“Where are they?” Tim asked, his mouth going dry.

“Well, I brought the old guy with us,” Jack said, jerking a thumb. Tim followed the direction and paled as he saw an unconscious Zane tied up to another structure, blood staining his side where his jacket and shirt were shredded. “The other two? Could be dead, could be hanging on. The place is in lockdown so it’s just a matter of flushing them out.”

Anger and terror and desperation clashed together inside Tim so fiercely that he felt like he was breaking from the inside out. A laugh escaped him, small at first but growing until his whole body shook with it and it was hard to breathe.

“You absolute freaking dick!” Tim cried at last, trying to control the unstable laughter. “Oh, god, you really suck, you know that? Seven years you’re dead, and then suddenly you’re just back and the first freaking thing you do is kidnap me and try to kill my friends. Shit, son of a taint, you’re the worst thing that ever happened to me. My stupid freaking life sucks. You died. You friggin’ died and you still came back just to kidnap me. Imagine being that goddamn petty.”

He slumped back against the structure he was tied to and caught his breath. “Oh, I am in so much trouble. This blows.”

Jack knelt down and gripped Tim’s chin, meeting his eyes with a dark grin. “You told them how to get past the Bunker’s defenses, and they killed my daughter. Yea, kiddo, you’re in trouble.”

“From what I hear, you didn’t give her much of a life,” Tim said.

Jack slammed Tim’s head against the structure. “You don’t get to talk about her. She was just a girl, and you helped those filthy bandits murder her.”

“I didn’t even know about her,” Tim said as his head ached. “I just knew that’s where you were charging the key.”

“And you betrayed me to help them, which led to my Angel’s death,” Jack said, a barely contained fury in his words. “I wish I could brand you all over again to remind you of your place, champ.” He paused, and looked over at Zane. “Not a bad idea, actually.”

“Don’t touch him,” Tim said, his blood turning to ice in his veins.

“Stop me,” Jack taunted, releasing him and standing up. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have some changes to make to your watch.”

“No!” Tim cried, but Jack disappeared with a flash of blue. “No, no, shit! Shit! Zane! Zane, wake up!”

Zane didn’t stir. Tim looked around, trying to struggle out of the chains. There were several idle loaders in the apartment, all turned towards him. Even if he broke free, he was unarmed and injured.

“I command you to release us,” Tim said in his best Jack voice to the loaders.

They didn’t move. The AI appeared to have full control over them.

“Oh, my shitty freaking life,” Tim groaned, and gave up his struggle. That was a failed escape attempt. He needed an actual plan to get out of this one.

The AI could control Hyperion tech, which is what Helios was made up of. Getting out of this bind would take a damn miracle.

Tim couldn’t move his hand to check and see if the eye was still in his pocket. His shoulder throbbed, and he wondered how mad Tannis would be about him reinjuring it if he lived through this nightmare.

Tim closed his eyes and tried to think past his panic. He didn’t know where Gaige and Axton were, but they were likely alive if Jack wasn’t gloating about their deaths. Zane was bound in here with him, likely disarmed as well. His weapons were their best chance to get out of here, but only if they could find them in time. Jack couldn’t control Zane’s weapons, or Axton’s and Gaige’s if they could reunite.

Tim opened his eyes. There were five loaders scattered throughout the apartment with them, that he could see, at least. Not impossible to take out, but only if they were armed. Tim could only shoot with his good arm, which severely limited his ability to aim. Without his digi-Jacks, he was nearly useless in a fight in his current state.

He had those weapons stored in the apartment, though. If they could get to the corrosive weapons, they might stand a chance. Most of them didn’t have the advanced Hyperion technology the modern weapons did, which meant Jack wouldn’t be able to hijack control of them.

Okay, okay, that was a start. Find a way out of the bindings, get to the weapons, take out the loaders. Get out of the room, find the others, hope for a damn miracle because they were so far in the shit right now.

Tim heard a moaning and looked over as Zane came to. He tried to move his arms but couldn’t, snapping to awareness faster than Tim had.

“Ah, shite,” Zane said simply.

“You said it,” Tim said miserably.

Zane took in their current predicament before looking to Tim. Tim subtly looked towards where he kept the weapons, and Zane gave a slight nod of understanding.

“The others?” he asked.

“Likely still alive, but trapped in Helios,” Tim said. “Jack is currently fucking with my watch because fucking with my life isn’t enough for him.”

Tim wanted to scream. He wanted to tear his face off. He wanted to destroy everything.

But he was trapped. Once again a victim to Handsome Jack by his own hand.

“This is my fault,” Tim said, feeling exhausted as the weight of the situation crashed over him. Blue and Jay. Zane. Gaige and Axton. All of them in danger because of him.

“Pity party later, Timmy,” Zane said, fidgeting in his bindings. “We’re not sittin’ down for Handsome Jack’s knockoff.”

Blue burst from the watch, and Tim’s face paled. Handsome Jack stood there, a lighter shade than Blue had been and with the mask on his face.

“Watch who you’re calling a knockoff,” Jack said, kicking at Zane’s wound. Zane spit at Jack’s feet. “Oh, you’re a feisty one. What’s with you and the feisty ones, Tim?”

“Where’s Blue?” Tim demanded.

“Right, your digi-pals,” Jack said, and spread his arms. “Like the new look? Oh, watch this!”

He disappeared back into the watch and burst forward a moment later in a flash of red. Jay now wore Handsome Jack’s mask and cold grin.

“I made some adjustments,” Jack said smugly.

Tim opened his mouth but no sound came out. What had Jack done to them? To their personalities?

“Stubborn code,” Jack said. “But I’m chipping away at it. Soon they’ll-”

He flickered, and Jay looked at Tim with desperate eyes. “Tim, it’s not us. We’re fighting him but he’s winning. Don’t let him win. Don’ le-”

Another flicker. “So annoying. Let me go fix that while you two settle in.” Jack disappeared back into the watch.

“The eye?” Zane asked.

Tim shook his head numbly. “I can’t check my pocket.”

“This is more interesting than hunting the vault key fragments, I’ll give ya that,” Zane said, and began to fidget around again.

“Zane…” Tim said miserably.

“Ah, chin up, boyo! Not me first time in a bind,” Zane said, seeming unbothered to be held captive by someone like Handsome Jack.

“He wants to brand you,” Tim said.

“No offense there Timmy, but I have no intention of looking like that mess you call a face,” Zane said. He paused and looked from Tim to the watch, the question clear in his eyes.

Tim didn’t know the answer. He didn’t know if he could abandon his watch to buy them time escaping Jack.

They’d been his only friends for so long. They’d kept him company once he’d escaped Jack, and supported him as he restarted his life after Jack’s death. He knew ditching the watch was the smartest option. There was nothing he could do to help them right now. Jack had likely hidden the eye, and until they found it and destroyed it, Jack was in control of Hyperion tech.

But how could he just leave them behind? How could he just give up on them?

So Tim didn’t focus on that. Instead, he focused on his thoughts about the eye. Jack would hide it somewhere Gaige and Axton couldn’t access. Possibly here in the apartment, if that had been the first place he’d gone after kidnapping Tim and Zane. But there were plenty of places on Helios that only Handsome Jack had access to.

Tim tried to think. Where would Jack hide the eye?

It had to be somewhere nearby. Tim wasn’t sure how long he’d been out for, but he doubted Jack could move much outside the range that the digi-Jacks could. He seemed to be able to force the battery to last longer, but the watch still had limitations.

Unless…

Jack’s office. It had to be in Jack’s office.

Even after the fall of Helios, Jack’s office had remained mostly in-tact. And without proper clearance, it was nearly impenetrable. Looters wouldn’t be able to get in, and neither would Gaige and Axton.

Jack easily could’ve sent a loader up with the eye. His office was an easily defendable place compared to the rest of the damaged station.

There was still the small matter of getting out of this bind, though.

Jack burst from the watch. “Alright, that’s taken care of. Loaders, grab them and let’s get moving.”

Well, that was unexpected.

The loaders unchained Tim and Zane just enough to get them off the structure of the apartment before dragging their still-bound forms forward. Tim looked at Zane in panic.

Jack caught the look and grinned. “What, Timmy? You think I’m going to keep you here where you stored weapons that can take down my loaders? Not a chance. I did some looking around while you were out. No, we’re going somewhere else now that I have full control of your little digi-friends.”

They were pulled from the apartment, more loaders guarding the hallway. Jack had to know where Gaige and Axton were. Tim doubted Jack would risk taking them out if he didn’t.

Zane was trying to break free of the chains, but it was pointless. Jack strode along with an easy confidence as the loaders dragged Tim and Zane after him.

Jack looked over his shoulder, and fear spiked through Tim at his expression.

“Time to fix you up, Timmy,” Jack said, and Tim’s heart sank into a blank terror at the words. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I have the next chapter nearly done so I'll probably update on time next week? But fair warning that my updates might not be every Wednesday anymore because I don't have much time to write lately! I'm sorry ;-;


	21. Chapter 21

Gaige approached the hallway cautiously, gun at the ready. She turned the corner, ready to fire on any opposition.

A group of loaders tried to ambush her, but she summoned Deathtrap, and Axton hurried to throw down his turret. The loaders weren’t particularly powerful, but they were in great number, and it took longer than Gaige would’ve liked to defeat them. The sound of fighting would give them away.

Still, she pressed forward once the loaders were all down. The door they’d been guarding was locked and Gaige cursed, pounding her fist on it.

“Tim? Zane?” she called. No use in being subtle now.

No answer from inside. Gaige pulled a grenade and motioned at Axton to get back.

They retreated, and Gaige flung the grenade at the door. It went off with a spectacular explosion. But when the smoke cleared, the walls and door still held.

“Shit,” Gaige said. “I should’ve known it wouldn’t be that easy. Jack wouldn’t want anyone to be able to break in.”

Axton paused, and Gaige looked to him curiously. He gestured to the door to the closest room.

“What if we don’t go in through the front?” he said.

“I like the way you think,” Gaige said brightly.

Getting into the nearby room was much simpler. Of course Jack would reinforce the front of his room; but the sides would hopefully be more vulnerable.

The two checked how many grenades they had. They didn’t know how well-protected an assault from the side would be. Too much force might endanger Tim and Zane if they were in there.

In the end, they didn’t have much of a choice. The best they could hope for was that Tim and Zane would be protected by their shields.

So the two let loose their grenades, and retreated out of the room hastily. The explosion rocked the area they were in, sending debris drifting down. They glanced at each other nervously, realizing neither of them had thought about the possibility of caving in the roof or the floor. This was why they needed a rational thinker on the team.

But neither the roof nor the floor caved in as the building settled, dust flying out from the room. They waited until it had partially cleared before going in there with guns drawn.

Sure enough, a hole had been blown in the wall. They cautiously entered Jack’s apartment, clearing the rooms in it.

“They’re not here,” Gaige said in frustration.

“They were,” Axton said, kneeling down and looking at the blood on the floor. “It looks like one was restrained here and one was restrained over there. Jack must have moved them.”

“What does that psycho want with Zane?” Gaige said, heading over to where Tim had stored his guns. She shifted through them and took a shotgun for herself, tossing a pistol to Axton just for a backup weapon.

Axton shrugged as he caught the pistol. “With Jack? Who knows. He couldn’t grab us, so maybe he’ll use Zane as leverage against Tim?”

“We need to find them. They’ve got to be in Helios somewhere,” Gaige said. Anxiety was starting to claw at her chest. The longer Tim was in Jack’s grasp, the more danger he was in- both physically and mentally.

Gaige tried to think hard about what would break Tim the fastest. That would be Jack’s sick plan. Try to get Tim back under his control as fast as possible, likely through fear. So where…

“Oh my god,” Gaige said, jolting forward. “Axton, come on. Come on!”

“What?” Axton said in alarm as he followed Gaige out of the apartment.

“Heights!” Gaige said urgently, looking for the nearest set of stairs. “He’s going to torture Tim with heights!”

Axton paled, likely remembering all those years ago when Maya had dangled Tim over the side of Sanctuary to try to get him to talk. Tim had suffered a full-blown panic attack, seeming to edge towards a complete mental breakdown from his own terror.

They moved faster, looking for any way up.

***

Zane was trying to loosen the restraints, but it wasn’t doing him much good. Jack and his loaders had marched the two up to the highest floor on Helios. They had to maneuver themselves around holes in the ground, cave-ins from the roofs, and general debris and destruction from the station’s crash.

Zane had watched Tim carefully, and noted the moment that fear and anxiety overwhelmed him. He’d shut down completely, seeming to function on autopilot as the two were forced to move along.

Jack was humming merrily as he walked along. Zane didn’t know where the eye was, but he doubted Jack would’ve left it somewhere. He had to have it nearby. But where would he hide it? Certainly he wouldn’t trust the loaders with something so important.

They finally stopped as Jack peered over one of the holes in the floor. “Well, good enough for me.” He gestured to the loader escorting Tim. “Bring him over here.”

As the loader led Tim forward, his blank expression snapped. The terror washed back in, his face screwing up with the force of it. He stumbled to a stop so fast that the loader slammed into him on accident and he fell to his knees.

“Jack, no,” he choked out.

“Jack, yes,” Jack said, grinning. “Come on, Timmy! Just like old times.”

“No,” Tim whispered, trying to scramble away. The loader grabbed him tightly. Tim tried to fight back despite being bound. There was a primal fear in his movements that set Zane on edge. What was happening?

But then it hit him. When they first brought Tim to medical and Gaige and Lilith told him and Amara about Tim, they’d mentioned he was severely acrophobic.

Jack was going to torture him with it.

Zane desperately searched for an option. He couldn’t let Jack break Tim, not now. They needed to get out of Helios and they couldn’t do that if Tim lost himself.

He saw no other option. He used the distraction to slip away from his loader, kicked Tim to the ground hard enough to knock him loose from the loader’s grasp, and brought his foot down as hard as he could at Tim’s wrist.

Zane hissed in pain as a laser struck his shoulder, sending him off balance enough that his foot stomped Tim’s hand instead. Tim winced but put his arm back out, looking to Zane desperately. Zane lifted his foot again, but Jack shot him with the laser once more, and the loader snagged the back of his jacket, yanking him away from Tim.

“Oh, he’s clever, isn’t he, Timmy?” Jack said as he came over. He yanked Tim to his feet and shoved him at the hole in the ground. When Tim caught himself and refused to move, Jack grabbed his hand and crushed it in a vice-like grip. Tim ground his teeth together, fighting back his cry of pain. Zane was certain he’d broken something in Tim’s hand with that blow.

“Go stand on the edge of that hole,” Jack commanded.

“Fuck you,” Tim gasped.

“Whoa, vulgar! Too much time with those filthy bandits,” Jack said, shaking his head. He crushed Tim’s hand harder, and Tim squeezed his eyes shut but refused to move.

When Jack realized that wasn’t going to work, he gave Tim’s hand one last rough squeeze. Tim opened his eyes, breathing heavily through his nose as he tried to choke back his pained noises.

“Fine. Let’s see if this gets your feet moving,” Jack said, walking over to where Zane was being restrained. He raised his laser and pointed it at Zane’s eye and lazily looked at Tim. “Get moving, or I blind him.”

Zane saw the quick flicker of panic in Tim’s eyes before his face cleared of all emotion. His expression composed itself to something similar to Jack’s own expression.

“Do what you want, kiddo,” he said with a shrug.

Jack howled with laughter. “There’s hope for you still!” He pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “Oh, Timmy, but don’t think you’ll ever fool me. I made you.” He lowered the laser and promptly shot Zane just above the knee with it.

Zane hissed in pain and crumpled to his good knee. The pain was bad and he wouldn’t be able to walk well, but Jack had purposely avoided seriously crippling him. Likely so he could use it as a torture option later.

Tim’s eyes widened. Jack looked satisfied.

Jack aimed the laser back at Zane’s eye, and dug his foot into Zane’s new wound. Zane snarled at him, trying to focus on anything but the pain screaming through his leg.

“Now, Timothy, you’re going to walk to the edge of that freaking hole, or I shoot his eye out next. Then I find your two friends and I shoot the commando’s eyes out. And then, I take my sweet time slowly prying Gaige’s eyes out with my bare hands while I make you watch,” Jack said pleasantly, the threat lining every word that left his mouth.

Tim forced himself to move.

His body trembled so badly that he stumbled as he walked. His breathing became unsteady as he neared the edge of the hole, but he looked at Zane and kept going until he was there.

Zane met his eyes. “Timmy, think of Gaige. Hold yourself together and keep her in mind. This bastard died once; we’ll kill him again. Keep your head on your shoulders a little longer, lad.”

Jack smacked him in the temple so hard a throbbing pierced through his head. Zane recoiled back before glaring defiantly at Jack.

Jack went over to Tim, motioning at one of the loaders to follow. Zane realized the loader had a thick cord coiled on its back, and Jack took it off.

“Now, we’re going to fix you right up,” Jack said casually as he tied the cord around Tim’s ankle. Tim tried to stumble back, but the loader held him firmly in place.

“Timmy, remember we came for you last time,” Zane said, desperate to give Tim some type of hope in the face of this. They couldn’t lose him, but Zane didn’t have a plan right now. With his leg shot like this, he wouldn’t be fast enough to do anything.

Tim looked at him with frightened eyes. He swallowed hard and looked at Jack.

“We’re going to kill you,” Tim said quietly.

Jack pat his cheek. “You can’t kill the hero of the story, kiddo.”

Before Tim could say anything else, Jack shoved him over the edge of the hole. The strangled scream Tim let out as he fell rang loudly in Zane’s ears.

“Hold that,” Jack said, handing the cord to the loader, who kept a steady grip on it as it tightened.

Jack came over to Zane and gestured at the loader to guide him to the edge of the hole in the floor. Jack gripped Zane’s hair and shoved his head so he could see Tim.

“Want to know a secret?” Jack said as Zane stared at Tim.

Tim dangled from the cord, his body desperately trying to pull itself up. His chest was heaving, his face dangerously pale as he wheezed for air. Sweat was thick on his face already, and Zane could tell his ankle had been injured when the cord suddenly went taut on him.

Jack was grinning, nothing but pleasure as he looked at his panicking double. “He’s mine. You never had a chance of claiming him. Confusing him, sure. But never taking him from me.”

“You’re a bloody psycho,” Zane said, trying to think of a plan. The cord was thick, but he could probably startle the loader into dropping it. Still, there was little chance he’d be able to grab it, and the chances of him keeping hold of it were even slimmer. He couldn’t risk dropping the cord and dropping Tim by extension. The fall would certainly kill him.

But he also couldn’t risk Jack losing his patience and pushing Zane to his death. He was clearly keeping Zane as a hostage to use against Tim. Someone who wasn’t as close with Tim as Axton and Gaige and who couldn’t talk him down from panic as well, but who could still be used as leverage.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you, did he?” Jack said, his grin growing, his eyes alight with amusement.

Zane looked at him cautiously. Jack laughed at the expression.

“He didn’t!” he said. “Oh, that sneaky little bastard. All this time and he never told. I bet even Gaige doesn’t know.”

“Know what?” Zane demanded.

“I’ll tell you later,” Jack said, patting him on the back. He looked down at Tim curiously. “Being in his watch let’s me monitor him. His heart rate goes any higher, and I think he’ll have a heart attack.”

Zane clenched his fists. He’d engaged in his share of cruelty, sure. But not like this. This was sick. Zane couldn’t wait to put a bullet in Jack’s head.

This was driving Zane crazy. Not as crazy as Tim, judging by the choked sobs Tim was barely managing to heave out. But still. Crazy.

“Tim!” he called. “You’re fine, boyo. It’s going to be fine. We’ll-”

“Shhhh! You’re ruining it,” Jack said, putting a hand over his mouth.

How was he managing to stay out of the watch for so long when he kept solidifying himself? He had to be boosting the watch’s battery somehow, but it was still finite. Maybe Zane could run it dry?

No, that wasn’t a solid plan. He had no idea how long it would take to do that. Tim wasn’t in a position to get his watch off and let it fall to its death, either. Shit.

Zane desperately searched for a way out of this as time dragged on. He couldn’t find any options, though.

With himself injured, the digi-Jacks gone, and Tim a mess from being suspended, they had little to no options available. Zane had no way to kill the AI without the eye, and he didn’t know where it was.

“Ah, the bandits arrive,” Jack said, looking over at the sound of footsteps.

Gaige and Axton slid into view, both with their guns aimed and their expressions determined. But Gaige’s face paled as her eyes traced the cord to the hole in the ground.

Zane managed to jerk his head away from Jack’s hand so he could speak. “Bastard’s dangling Timmy over the edge there. Has been for a while now.”

Jack casually pressed the wrist laser to Zane’s jaw. “Try anything, and your friend here is going to need some new dentures.”

“What do you think is going to happen?” Gaige demanded. “Handsome Jack is fucking dead. I watched Lilith kill him. His era is long gone.”

“The hero has made a comeback,” Jack said smugly. “I just need to patch up other-me, and we’ll be back in business, kiddo. You think a few days with me won’t have him killing you to protect that freaking eye Rhys trapped me in?”

Gaige’s grip on her gun tightened, but it didn’t matter. They couldn’t kill this Jack with bullets.

“Haul him up for a minute,” Jack said to the loader.

The loader pulled the cord up slowly. Tim’s desperate struggles for air became more audible the closer he got.

Finally, he was pulled over the side, curling up and digging his fingers against the ground so hard it drew blood. He gasped out dry sobs, his body trembling so hard he didn’t appear able to get up. He hadn’t even noticed Axton and Gaige yet.

“Timothy,” Gaige said, her voice breaking as she looked at his wrecked form on the ground.

He jerked like he’d been struck and forced his eyes open, looking at Gaige. He didn’t say anything, didn’t try to move. Just kept his gaze on her as he tried to breathe again.

Jack shoved Zane into the arms of a loader, who held him securely. Jack dropped besides Tim and gripped his hair, yanking his head up.

“You never told them, huh, Timmy?” he said smugly.

Tim closed his eyes again.

“You didn’t!” Jack said, and laughed. “Oh, you sneaky bastard.”

“Get away from him!” Gaige snarled.

“Nah,” Jack said, dismissing her words with a wave of his hand. He dragged Tim so Tim was on his knees. “Go ahead, Timmy. Tell them. Tell them why you’ll always be mine.”

“Jack,” Tim finally managed to choke out. “Please, don’t. Please.”

Jack yanked Tim backwards and pushed him to the edge of the hole. Tim yelped and tried to scramble away, his breathing hitching again.

“Tell them, or over you go,” Jack said, a smirk on his face.

“I’ll tell them!” Tim cried desperately. “I’ll tell them, just please, don’t! I’ll do anything!”

“You’re damn right you will,” Jack said, pulling him away from the edge and spinning him so he was facing the others. “Tell them why you’ll always be mine.”

Tim curled his fingers against his palms, his body trembling again. He looked at Gaige, and then dropped his gaze.

“Tim?” Gaige said. “Tell us what?”

“I…” Tim let out a sound that was a horrible combination of a laugh and a sob. “God, I have his fucking DNA. I don’t just look like Handsome Jack; I am him. I’m Handsome Jack.” His voice broke off with another soft sob.

“He can’t escape me, because he is me,” Jack said, the grin splitting his face. “All these years you’ve been wasting your time. And he knew it. The fact he didn’t tell you is proof enough for me.”

It was silent, and Tim closed his eyes again. Zane studied him, wondering how it felt to live knowing Handsome Jack’s very DNA was within you. Trying to build yourself into your own identity, knowing all the while that someone like Handsome Jack lurked beneath your skin.

He’d heard of such a thing before, but it was rare, expensive, and permanent. Now he understood Tim’s lapses into his “Handsome Jack” façade. It wasn’t a façade at all. Maybe sometimes it was a defense mechanism, but sometimes it was just his nature.

There was no escaping this.

No matter how hard he tried, he would always lapse back into Handsome Jack, brief as those moments might be.

“I don’t care.”

Gaige’s voice rang out in the silence, steady as her gaze on Tim. “I don’t care what DNA they injected into you. You are Timothy Lawrence. My friend. I trust you.”

“Gaige, there can’t be a Timothy Lawrence without Handsome Jack,” Tim said, voice pained.

“Then we figure something out, after we kill this shitty AI,” Gaige said. “I am not giving up on you, Timothy.”

Tim slowly opened his eyes and looked at the honestly on Gaige’s face. He gave a slow nod. Jack fumed beside him.

Tim launched forward.

He threw himself to the ground, trying to smash his watch. The first blow didn’t appear to cause any damage, but he lifted his arms again, gritting his teeth against the pain in his hand.

Zane figured the watch would be hard to break. It was a staple of Tim’s fighting, and contained his friends. He wouldn’t walk around with something easily breakable.

He slammed his wrist to the ground twice more before Jack hauled him to his feet. He spun Tim around so no one could shoot at his wrist.

“You ungrateful shit,” Jack snarled. “All I did for you, and this is how you want to freaking act? Fine. We clearly need more effort to fix you.”

Before anyone could move, Jack had shoved Tim over the edge again. Tim’s scream erupted up from the opening, and the cord suddenly snapped taut, a pained howl coming from below.

Zane winced. “Oh, that’s a broken ankle.”

“I’m going to fucking kill you,” Gaige snapped at Jack, charging forward.

“You shoot that loader, he falls to his death,” Jack said, jerking his thumb to the loader holding the cord. “Even if you manage to grab it, I’ll just laser it. Rather kill him then see him in your hands, cupcake.” 

‘You’re sick!” she said, her face heating up with fury. “You’re goddamn sick!”

Jack gave a lazy smile, but his eyes were sharp. “He helped you kill my daughter. I’m not going to coddle him this time. I’m going to get him back into shape, remind him who he really is, and kill you bandits.”

As Zane watched them face off, the slightest plan came into his head. It was barely a plan at all, but it was better than nothing. At best, it would get him and Tim away from Jack. At worst…

Well, everyone had to die at some point, right?

Zane limped towards Axton. Gaige was yelling at Jack again, threatening him colorfully. He was distracted enough not to notice Zane getting near Axton.

“Get me free. I have a plan,” Zane said.

Axton switched his gun to one with cryo, and shot at the chains until they froze. He smashed into them with the gun, freeing Zane’s hands.

He moved to the side, just narrowly dodging the laser from Jack. Jack was scowling at them.

“Not what I had in mind, pumpkin,” he said, aiming the laser at Zane again.

Zane was struggling to stay on his feet, the pain in his knee overwhelming. He grit his teeth against it. He’d had worse. His legs might not be cooperating right, but he’d have to do his best.

“Distract him,” he hissed at Axton, summoning his digi-clone, glad Jack hadn’t taken it or the SNTNL from him.

Axton dashed towards the loader holding Tim. Jack shot at him, and Gaige rolled to the side, shooting through Jack’s digistructed form.

Zane managed to make it to the edge of the hole before Jack noticed him. Jack barked a laugh.

“What, going to pull him back up?” he said. “If only you had your siren friend with you, huh?”

“Got a different idea in mind, actually,” Zane said, and he jumped down the hole.

He sliced the cable holding Tim as he fell, catching the end of it. Tim’s screams rushed up to greet him.

He angled himself down until he had a grip on Tim’s sleeve. It was a long drop to the bottom, and a grisly landing.

Tim’s screams hid the wind whipping past his ears as they descended towards their deaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I found the DNA bit from the DLC slipping into this, and just...went with it? But anyways, I'm super sorry because this ends on a cliffhanger but I haven't had a chance to start the next chapter, so it likely won't be up next Wednesday and I'm really, really sorry ;-; I'll try to carve out some time and get the new chapter up as soon as I can, but please be patient if it takes an extra week or two!


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update ;-;

They were falling too fast for Zane to get a good view of the floors around them. There was a good chance trying to throw themselves to the side would kill them just as surely as falling to the bottom.

He tossed out his SNTNL and grabbed it. It jerked up, and Zane grunted at the pressure that put on his shoulder.

But it slowed their fall just enough for him to make a split-second plan. He had it guide them to the right, and the two crashed onto the ground, the SNTNL having only slowed their fall enough not to kill or seriously injure them.

“Oh, thank all that bloody worked,” Zane said in relief as he tried to catch his breath. “Me backup plan was to switch with me clone back where Jack and the others were, but I didn’t know if it’d bring you with me.”

Tim didn’t respond. Zane lifted his head and looked over at him.

Tim laid motionless on the ground, his face horribly pale and his eyes closed. His chest still moved up and down, so he was alive, at least.

“Oi, you out?” Zane asked, trying to get up and wincing at the pain in his leg. The fall certainly hadn’t helped that any, and the wound in his side from earlier still stung. They needed health kits.

“Go.” Tim’s voice was weak, choked.

Zane dragged himself over to Tim. “Go? What do you mean?”

Tim opened his eyes and looked at Zane. “I mean, go. Get back to Gaige and Axton and find a way out of this place. It’s me he wants.”

“Well that’s just too damn bad,” Zane said. He reached out and gripped Tim’s chin, feeling Tim’s tears tickle his fingers moments later. “I just jumped to my almost-guaranteed death to get you away from him, and feck you if you think I’m just going to walk away after that. Actually, feck you if you think I can walk away. Got a bit of a bullet wound crippling me.”

“You think that’s bad?” Tim snapped. His voice was raw from the screaming, but his eyes were desperate. “He will torture you. He will brand you. He will break you.”

“And you think he won’t do that to you?” Zane asked, reaching out and touching Tim’s scar.

“I can’t escape him,” Tim said, pushing Zane’s hand away. “I signed my life away to him. I never stood a chance. Just…Just promise me you’ll get Gaige out of here.”

“Okay, I promise I’ll get her out of here,” Zane said, and Tim relaxed just the slightest. “And Axton. And you. Now, where the hell are we and what’s the plan?” Tim opened his mouth to protest, but Zane held up a hand. “Nope, no martyrs here. I hate martyrs and pointless sacrifices. So, rather than waste my time with that shite, let’s get a plan going, boyo. Starting with the watch.”

Tim looked down at the watch on his wrist. He closed his eyes again.

“Take it off and destroy it,” he said quietly. “I…they’re gone. I know they’re gone.”

Zane had no guns, so he gestured for his SNTNL to shoot at the chains binding Tim. Once that was taken care of, he pulled Tim’s hand towards him, and Tim sucked in a pained breath.

He shook his head when Zane started to stop. “Just do it. My hand and ankle are broken. If he gets to us now, neither of us can get away. So hurry up and do it. It’s sturdy, but not invincible.”

“I could throw it over?” Zane offered.

“No. Make sure it’s broken,” Tim said. “No leaving it to chance, high as that chance might be.”

Zane started to unclasp the watch. Tim just watched him with tired eyes, and Zane knew breaking the watch would likely cause Tim to give up. But it had to be done, and Zane would just have to hope Tim’s friendship with Gaige was enough to keep him going.

But then Jack flickered to life before him. “Come on kiddos, did you really already forget that I can monitor his vitals through the watch? His heart slamming and then calming down was a good giveaway he wasn’t dead.”

And without anything else added to that, Jack kicked Zane over the edge and back down to a freefall.

“Zane!” Tim cried, lurching forward. He ignored the pain in his ankle as he scrambled towards the edge.

Jack gripped the back of his shirt and hauled him back. “No time to waste, Timmy. Let’s get a move on. Boy, do I have plans for you!”

Tim slumped to the ground, his body trembling. He looked up at Jack, at the man he’d once been so loyal to, first out of terror and then out of belief that this heartless monster actually cared about him.

“I’m glad your daughter is dead,” he said.

Rage washed over Jack’s features. “What did you just say?”

Tim met his eyes. “I’m glad she’s dead.”

The blow from Jack broke his nose, but Tim just laughed through the pain. He hit the wall behind him, his body aching. It didn’t matter anymore. Jack had him back. And he wouldn’t let him go this time.

“You’re nothing here anymore. Now these new influencer kids are the big bads. Stupidass kids took your place. You were never the hero. You weren’t even a villain worthy of a legacy,” Tim said. “Even if you kill my friends and drag me back into your madness, it won’t mean anything. They control a whole cult. They’ll just kill us. Rhys knows about the eye, and as soon as he sees you’re back, he’ll tell the Crimson Raiders. You can’t win. And you know what’s so great? I can’t win. Neither of us can win, Jack. This whole mess is pointless.”

“Have you lost your freaking mind?” Jack said in irritation.

“A long damn time ago,” Tim said, resting his head against the wall and closing his eyes. He was so tired. So broken. He didn’t want to do this anymore. “Either kill me, or leave me alone.”

“Oh, no, you don’t get off that easily,” Jack said. He gripped Tim’s shirt and yanked him away from the wall.

“What are you going to do, Jack? My ankle is broken. I can’t walk. My hand is broken and I have a freaking hole in my shoulder. I can’t shoot or fight. You took my digi-Jacks from me,” Tim said, opening his eyes to look at Jack. “And you call me stupid.”

“The casino,” Jack said.

“What about it?” Tim said. But then he paused, cursed silently. “Right. It’s a goddamn weapon. So, what, you kill my friends and drag me there? You’re dead, Jack. You’ve been dead for seven years. The only thing keeping you here is a cybernetic eye. Even if we make it to the casino and rally the mechanical troops or whatever, you can’t win.”

Jack looked frustrated, and it was sickly satisfying. Jack didn’t seem to realize how drastically things had changed since his death, but as soon as they were outside Helios, he would understand.

Good. Tim wanted to see the hope die off his face.

“Fine, smartass. I killed one of your friends. Just two more to go. And then we’ll figure out what to do with you.” Jack dragged him along, and Tim hissed in pain as he stumbled after Jack on his broken ankle. “I don’t give up. You think my legacy is dead? I’m about to prove you wrong, kiddo.”

Tim let himself be led along. It didn’t matter anymore. He would likely be dead within the next few hours.

But he had every intention of dragging Jack to the grave with him.

***

“Shit, shit, shit,” Gaige said loudly. Jack had flickered away, and now they had no idea if that meant Tim was dead. She turned and shot at a destroyed loader once, twice, again. One more time, just out of sheer frustration.

“You’re wasting ammo,” Axton said.

“I’m working through my feelings!” Gaige snapped, and shot the loader again.

“Work through them without wasting our ammo!” Axton said, and it reminded her so much of her usual arguments with Tim that she let out a frustrated groan and shot the loader once more.

“I’m done,” she said before Axton could yell at her. “I don’t feel better, but I’m done. What the hell was Zane thinking?”

“I’m not sure he was,” Axton said.

Gaige wanted to sit down, put her head in her hands, and scream. But that didn’t seem like a particularly productive thing to do, so she resisted the urge and instead started pacing.

“We could find a way out of here and call for help,” she said. “Blow a hole in the walls or something.”

“We don’t know how far we have to go before we can get communication with the others,” Axton pointed out.

“Stop being rational while I’m planning, dammit!” Gaige said. “Ugh, fine, you’re right. But it’s an option, so let’s keep it in mind. Tim and Zane are both injured. Or possibly dead, if Zane just decided to plummet that far without a plan. But assuming they somehow survived that, they need health kits. Are we stocked?”

“Not nearly enough for all their injuries,” Axton said. “We have enough to heal some injuries and stop more blood loss. But if someone gets hurt worse, we’ll be shit out of luck.”

“I hate being shit out of luck,” Gaige said. She picked up her pacing. “Okay. Okay, so we give a health kit to each of them, and patch up the rest of their wounds the best we can.”

“We have to find them first,” Axton said. “And this is all assuming they survived.”

Gaige gestured to Zane’s flickering digi-clone. “Zane’s digi-clone device likely would’ve broken if they died from the fall. Maybe they didn’t fall all the way and managed to destroy the watch?”

“Maybe,” Axton said, but he didn’t sound very convinced.

Gaige opened her mouth, but instead of words, only a yelp came out. Zane’s digi-clone had suddenly disappeared, and instead, Zane himself was there, groaning on the ground.

“Zane!” Gaige said in relief, hurrying over to him. She dropped next to him, inspecting him for any new injuries. “Axton, get him a health kit. What happened?”

“I managed to keep us alive and throw us onto a lower floor. But before I could destroy the watch, Jack came and kicked me back down. It’s lucky the digi-clone hadn’t run out yet, or I’d be a puddle of handsome vault hunter by now,” Zane said, gratefully taking the health kit and injecting himself with it. “Tim’s royally screwed. Broken ankle and hand. He won’t be able to escape Jack on his own.”

“Do you know where you two were when Jack kicked you?” Gaige asked.

Zane shook his head. “Not a clue. And I doubt that health kit’s going to fix up me leg, so I won’t be able to move well.”

“What a clusterfuck this whole thing is,” Gaige said, sitting next to Zane. “Of all the dead people to come back, it has to be Handsome Jack.”

“Gaige, I have an idea,” Axton said slowly. “Not necessarily a good one, though.”

“At this point, you could tell me your idea is to politely ask Jack to return Tim and I wouldn’t even laugh,” Gaige said. “Hit me, big guy.”

“What if I get out of here? You distract Jack so I can blow my way out of Helios and run for help. Zane is too injured to do it, plus Jack probably thinks he’s dead. So you cause a distraction, Zane serves as backup since Jack won’t be expecting him, and I’ll make a run for it to get us help. At this rate, even if we manage to get Tim, he and Zane are too injured to run. We’d never make it out of here trying to protect them.”

“I’m right here,” Zane reminded.

“And that doesn’t make you any less useless,” Gaige said, patting his shoulder. She grinned over at Axton. “Who says you’re just a pretty face?”

Axton ignored that. “I’ll make my way to the ground floor, and you and Zane try to draw his attention…uh, somewhere other than the ground floor.”

“Better work fast,” Zane warned. “Timmy’s giving up. I doubt it’ll take much for Jack to break him at this point. Losing those digi-friends of his was a big blow.”

“Well, we don’t know where he is,” Gaige said reluctantly. “So Axton’s plan is our best bet right now. Jack can’t escape Helios without Tim, and Tim is too injured to make a run for it. If we can get the Crimson Raiders here as backup, we can hold off Jack’s forces long enough to find the eye and destroy it.”

“Think we can pull it off?” Zane said.

“We barely stand a chance. Let’s do it,” Gaige said, helping him up.

“He asked me to get you out of here. He wanted me to leave him,” Zane said.

“Tough shit for him. We’re not leaving without him,” Gaige said. “The only person dying today is Jack.”

Zane hoped she was right, but the odds certainly weren’t in their favor on that one.

“You better be alive when I get back,” Axton said to them, tossing two of his guns to Zane, and handing the health kits to Gaige. He kept one for himself, just in case.

“You better survive to make it back,” Gaige said.

With that, Axton took off. Gaige knew it was a long-shot that Axton would make it out before being detected, but she trusted him to handle himself. Ideally, she would’ve liked to send Zane given his background. But he was barely keeping himself upright.

“Do you want another health kit?” she asked.

He shook his head. “No. Save them. I figure we’ll need them once we have Jack’s attention.”

“I have an idea for a distraction. It’ll give Axton time to reach the ground floor before we start,” Gaige said.

“Alright, let’s hear it,” Zane said, letting Gaige guide him along, using her to support his weight.

“If the eye isn’t in Jack’s room, my best guess is that it’s in his office,” Gaige explained. “So we go there, and start fucking shit up. That should draw his attention.”

“Might as well,” Zane said, grinning a little. But then his expression smoothed. “He might even be keeping Tim there. He’s bad, Gaige.”

“I know,” Gaige said tightly. “But I can’t…we need to resolve this mess first. Then I can focus on kicking his ass back into gear. Jack’s DNA or no, Tim is my friend and I’m not giving up on him.”

“Then let’s go raise some hell and pull his ass out of the fire again,” Zane said.

They made their way as fast as they could in search of Jack’s office, both knowing that this was it. If this plan failed, they wouldn’t survive much longer in Jack’s domain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so as of right now an update schedule is just...not a thing. I haven't even started the next chapter yet. But I should have some time to write next week, hopefully, and I'll see if I can get back on track! For right now, I'll just update whenever I can instead of every Wednesday. Sorry! ;-;


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for disappearing!! I hit writer's block with this, and then randomly had the urge to work on it today. Fair warning that I didn't have a chance to proofread this chapter or make edits on it, so please forgive any mistakes :')

When Tim woke up, he was slumped against Jack’s desk.

Everything ached. His wounds needed medical attention, badly. He found he could barely move the arm he had the shoulder injury on, and his hand and ankle had swollen alarmingly.

“Look at you,” Jack said, towering over him. “Pathetic.”

Tim just gazed up at him, too tired to deal with this. He didn’t remember passing out, but he wished he could do it again.

“Did you ever even care, Jack?” he said.

Jack knelt before him, reaching out and gripping Tim’s hair, pulling his head closer. “Everyone betrayed me,” he hissed. “Even you.” His grip tightened. “I sent you there to kill them, and you fucking joined them. They got past my defenses and killed my daughter because of you.” He leaned in close, his eyes cold. “We were supposed to be a freaking team, kiddo.”

Tim didn’t flinch back. “You had me shot, stabbed, and poisoned so you could play hero and make me think you gave a shit.” A grin sliced his face, so hauntingly similar to Jack’s usual grin. “I think you did care. I think you didn’t want to lose me because you cared about me. And you know what? Fuck you.”

Fury flashed through Jack’s eyes, but he released Tim’s hair and stood up. “I’ll get you back on track once I’ve dealt with the vault hunters.”

“Jack, it’s over,” Tim said. “You can’t win. You can’t.”

Jack looked at Tim. “Then why did you bring me back?”

He wanted to say it was so he could rescue his face. That had been the lie he’d told himself.

Because in the end, he’d planned to destroy the AI Jack when he found it. But then he held the eye in his hands and he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Jack was sick, twisted, abusive, manipulative. He was a megalomaniac. He was a murderer. He’d locked his own daughter up and used her. He’d let his paranoia end more lives than his anger. He’d broken Tim, over and over, just to put the pieces back together into something he wanted.

But Tim meant it when he said he believed Jack cared about him.

“It was a mistake,” Tim said at last. “There’s nothing for you here. Not Hyperion, not your followers, not me. It’s all gone, Jack. It’s been too long. Let me destroy the eye and end all this.”

“I don’t give up!” Jack snapped.

And Tim could recognize the signs. Jack knew he was cornered. And he was afraid.

“There was a girl,” Tim said slowly. “God, it’s been years, but I can’t stop picturing her. She was a victim at the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve. Your experiments killed her. She died begging for my help, reaching for me. That was it, Jack. That was when you lost me. I’m a lot of things, but that was the moment I realized I didn’t want to be your heartless killer anymore.”

“We had the world at our fingertips, Tim,” Jack said, clenching a fist.

“She died alone,” Tim said. “Afraid, in pain. Reaching for a hand I didn’t offer her because I was Handsome Jack. I don’t want to be Handsome Jack ever again.”

They stared at each other. Tim knew one way or the other, this was it. Either he’d die here, or all that remained of Jack would.

“You, of all damn people,” Jack said, and kicked Tim’s ankle. Tim bit his lip so hard it bled, but he managed not to cry out. “You. Do you know, I was going to send you to the casino when you returned from Opportunity that day. That would’ve been your new post, permanently. It was the safest place to stash you. And then you joined them, like a freaking traitor.” He kicked Tim’s ankle again, harder, and this time Tim couldn’t help but cry out hoarsely. “I was going to keep you safe, and now look at you! You got my daughter killed! You got me killed! And now you’re trying to do it again, you rotten traitor! You!”

“I don’t regret it,” Tim said, voice shaking from the pain in his ankle. “Gaige saw a person where everyone else saw a monster.” He forced himself to meet Jack’s eyes. “Kill me. Because if you don’t, I’m going to kill you. It was over the day that girl died.”

Jack pulled back his foot to kick Tim again, but then an odd noise stopped him. He and Tim both looked to the door.

Another muffled thump sounded. Jack’s expression darkened, and he motioned forward. A crowd of loaders surged forward at the silent command, ready to attack.

Tim’s heart sank. They hadn’t left him. They were still coming for him. They weren’t safe.

Jack grabbed the collar of Tim’s shirt and dragged him around the desk. Tim choked on his cries of pain, shoving his uninjured hand in his mouth to bite down on. Jack sat at his chair, and calmly held his wrist laser to Tim’s head as he watched the door.

The door flung open, Deathtrap stumbling into the room. Gaige stood in the doorway, gun aimed. Her expression tightened as she looked past the loaders to Jack and Tim.

“Gun down,” Jack said. He lowered his wrist laser and viciously punched Tim’s shoulder. Tim bit his hand harder, tasting blood.

Gaige lowered her gun slowly. Jack gestured for her to come forward and she did, head held high as she stomped past the loaders aiming at her.

“Tannis is going to kill you when she sees your shoulder,” Gaige said to Tim.

“Tell her to get in line,” Tim grunted.

The loaders were all turned to face Gaige, weapons aimed. Tim felt despair settle heavy in him. Zane wasn’t with her. Axton wasn’t with her. Were they both dead?

Tim pictured Jack kicking Zane. He doubted even Zane could find a way to survive that fall. But what had happened to Axton?

An explosion from far off rocked the building. Jack cursed loudly.

It was a moment before he spoke again. “Don’t worry pumpkin, I sent some forces after your commando. He won’t make it far.” He pointed his wrist laser at her now. “Neither will you.” He grinned widely. “Oh, Timmy, this’ll be fun. I’m going to kill her and make you watch. We’ll call it payback for Angel.”

“He’s going to die,” Gaige said, nodding to Tim. “You rough him up anymore, and he won’t survive his injuries. Look at all the blood he’s lost. What then? You need him to leave and you know it.”

“But I don’t need you,” Jack said casually, and shot Gaige.

He fired and fired. Gaige tried to back away, but the loaders crowded her in as her shield weakened. Deathtrap couldn’t break past the loaders. Tim tried to throw himself against Jack, but he couldn’t touch the AI.

“Tim, duck!” Gaige cried as her shield finally broke.

Tim’s eyes widened and he threw himself to the ground just as the nova blast ripped through the office.

He covered his head with his good hand as best he could. The blast shook the room, and Tim grit his teeth at all the crashing and minor explosions going off around him.

As things settled a bit, he risked picking himself up. He peeked over the desk.

Gaige stood in the center of the room, looking fierce as she stared down a surprised Jack. The loaders were mostly destroyed around her, and she shot any that so much as twitched.

But her shield was gone.

“Bad move, kiddo,” Jack said, and fired at her.

A barrier sprung up in front of her, and Tim sagged against the desk with relief. A grenade rolled into the room and went off with a loud blast, making Tim’s ears ring as flames caught on the possessions in the office.

Jack yelled something that Tim couldn’t hear over the ringing in his ears. Smoke was quickly filling the room, and Tim thought he saw someone firing flaming bullets from the doorway.

Tim coughed, trying to pull his shirt over his mouth and nose. Someone grabbed him, and he weakly fended them off. But they restrained his hands, ignoring it as he cried out in pain, and hauled him up, two sets of hands on him.

As he was carried out of the office, he realized it was Gaige and Zane carrying him. Zane’s face was pale, but his expression was determined as he limped along as fast as he could with Tim. His clone stood in the doorway, firing off shots to add to the confusion.

“Gaige!” Zane said. “Now!”

They dropped Tim to the ground hastily, and Tim decided if he ever made it out of here alive and managed to recover, he’d do everything in his power to never get so much as a papercut again. He was sick of being in agony.

Gaige gripped his wrist, hastily trying to unlatch his watch. Zane was fumbling in his bag, producing two health kits.

Zane swore as the health kits shattered. Jack flickered behind Tim, pressing his laser to Tim’s shoulder wound.

“Let go of the watch, or he loses his arm,” Jack said.

“Son of a- just destroy the watch!” Tim said.

Gaige yanked at the latch, and Zane shoved Tim out of the way just as Jack fired. The shot grazed Tim’s arm, but his arm was still attached to his body so he considered it a win in his book.

Gaige held the watch now, and she met Jack’s eyes. “Fuck you, asshole.”

Before she could fire on the watch, Jack grabbed Tim and pointed his laser at Tim’s head. “If you destroy that, I have no reason to keep him alive.”

“You act like I want to be kept alive at this point,” Tim said impatiently. “One of you just shoot already.”

But Gaige was hesitating. She knew Jack wasn’t bluffing. Without the watch, he had no immediate use for Tim, and he was the type of sick man to be satisfied by her grief more than any potential future use of Tim.

It became a tense stare-down between all of them. Gaige had her shotgun pointed at the watch, Jack had his laser pointed at Tim’s head, and Zane watched the scene unfold, desperately trying to think of a plan.

“Gaige, just do it and run,” Tim begged. “Get help, and destroy the eye. I’m not worth it. I never was.”

“Have a pity party later, Timothy,” Gaige said.

Jack opened his mouth, but then he flickered. His eyes widened a little as he steadied himself.

Was the battery on the watch running out? Tim anxiously hoped so. It’d give Gaige and Zane a chance to flee, at least.

Gunfire sounded from lower down in the ruins of Helios. Rage flashed onto Jack’s face.

“How?” he demanded.

Gaige and Zane looked at each other, equally confused. They’d been expecting reinforcements, but with Jack’s control over Helios, he should’ve seen them coming.

They were spared an answer when something burst through the ceiling and crashed down beside them. Dust rushed out at them, and they all shielded their faces.

As the dust settled, Lilith and Tannis stood up.

Tannis made a noise of disgust as she looked at Tim. “You are an injury magnet, and I cannot wait to be rid of you.”

“Jack,” Lilith said coldly.

“You,” Jack hissed. He still had his laser aimed at Tim’s head, but his focus shifted entirely onto Lilith. “You dirty freaking bandits. I won’t let you take everything from me a second time.”

“No need for the dramatic,” Tannis said, and shrugged off her coat.

“Oh my god,” Gaige said, eyes going wide. “Tannis, you’re a Siren?!”

“You can thank Angel for that. And I’m sure Jack here recalls what Angel had control over,” Tannis said.

Jack stared in horror before flickering out of his existence.

“The eye is in your pocket, Timothy,” Tannis said.

Tim was staring at her. “You…what…what the hell is going on?”

“Ah, that. I have Angel’s powers,” Tannis said, holding up her glowing arm. “Angel’s control over technology meant I was able to hijack Helios from Jack as soon as Axton alerted us to the situation. Now, the eye.” She winced. “This AI is rather a nuisance.”

Jack flickered back into life as Tim reached a shaking hand into his pocket and pulled out the eye. Jack threw out a hand.

“Tim!” he cried. “Don’t!”

Tim stared from the eye to Jack. His heart ached, and he didn’t know why. Why should he feel anything for this man?

“Timmy, come on, we can be a team again, kiddo,” Jack said, and Tim was shocked at the genuine fear on Jack’s face. “We kill them, and reclaim our throne. Together, just like last time. You’ll help me rise to power again, and I’ll protect you.” He took a slow step forward. “It was good back then, remember? Good before you went to Opportunity. I kept you safe.”

Tim’s throat seemed to close with emotion. He shook his head slowly.

“You manipulated me into thinking it was good,” he said, shakily rising to his good foot. Gaige hurried to steady him. “It was never good, Jack. If there’s an afterlife, you better find that girl and apologize for killing her.” He swallowed hard. “Hey, Jack? You’re a prick, and I quit.”

He threw the eye on the ground and stomped on it. Jack let out a howl of anger and pain that shook Tim to his core.

The AI flickered out of life, and Tim fell to the ground trembling.

Gaige followed him down, a hand on his back. She put one on his chest to keep him from falling.

“Tim,” she said softly. “Tim, it’s over. It’s over. He’s gone.”

“I know,” Tim choked out. “I know, Gaige.”

“Well, that was an exciting way to pass the day,” Zane said, collapsing onto his back. “What’s going on down there, anyway?”

“The others are dealing with the loaders,” Lilith said, crouching beside Zane and inspecting his injuries. “Shit, you and Tim need medical attention.”

Zane waved her away. “I’m surprised Timmy over there is even still breathing at this point. Go grab him and I’ll wait my turn.”

Tim reached out and took the watch into his hand. He held it to his chest, and was unsurprised to feel tears on his cheeks. He swiped at the watch, but nothing came forward.

“I’m sorry, Tim,” Gaige said, pulling him against her. “I know they were your friends.”

“I got them killed,” Tim whispered. “I caused all of this. It was never about my face.”

Gaige rested her head on his good shoulder. “I know, Tim.”

“But he’s gone. That’s…That’s the end of it,” Tim said. He touched his face, feeling the scar beneath his fingers. “Gaige, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. And, shit, how can you even stand to be near me? You know I have his DNA.”

“And you know that doesn’t matter to me,” Gaige said firmly. “You’re still my friend Timothy Lawrence. We’ll get you healed up, and figure out where to go from there. Okay?”

Tim felt weak, drained. The adrenaline was fading from him, and he slumped against Gaige, clutching his watch.

“I want to keep it,” he said. He could…bury it, maybe. Give them some sort of proper funeral.

Lilith helped Zane sit up. Zane put a hand on Tim’s back.

“You proved yourself. You picked us over him,” Zane said. “But, boyo, you owe me a hell of a lot of drinks.”

“I’ll pay up,” Tim said. “But only if you tell me how you’re even still alive.”

“Swapped with me digi-clone!” Zane said. “Then we made our plan to recuse you and distract Jack while Axton blew a hole in the wall and ran for help. We heard you and Jack arguing in the office, and we made a quick plan on how to get you out and destroy the watch to buy us time.”

Tim nodded. He looked to Lilith. “Will you kill me?”

“What?” Gaige said in surprise.

“After what I did, I wouldn’t blame you,” Tim said, ignoring Gaige.

“No,” Lilith said. “I didn’t condemn Angel for being manipulated by Jack. I won’t condemn you either.” Her eyes traced his scar. “You’ve suffered enough. But once you’re healed, I want you to leave Sanctuary.”

“I planned on it,” Tim said.

“Let’s get you back, you big idiot,” Gaige said, struggling to get him to his feet.

“Shit, you look rough,” Moze said as the others finally found them. She hurried over to Zane and helped him to his feet.

“Hey, you! Siren with the muscles!” Gaige called. “Help me get him out of here. And help me getas jacked as you. Damn, girl.”

Amara smiled, pleased with the compliments, and came to help Gaige with Tim. It took work to drag everyone from Helios, but they managed it while the others fought off the loaders. Fl4k and their pets were alongside Axton and his turret as they wiped out swarms of loaders with other raiders, both looking relieved to see everyone leaving alive.

They got Tim and Zane in a vehicle, tending to their wounds the best they could with no health kits on them. As the vehicle rolled away from the remains of Helios, Tim watched it go, holding the watch tightly in his good hand.

“Gaige?” he said.

“Right here,” she said, putting a hand on his good shoulder and squeezing it.

“I…Thank you. Just…thank you.” He closed his eyes, feeling the warmth of her hand on his shoulder, hearing Zane laughing beside him as he recounted his mad rescue of Tim when they’d fallen.

“Get some rest. We’ll figure it all out later,” Gaige said. “You’re an idiot, Timothy Lawrence, but you’re my idiot. I say we take a break from all the action when this blows over. Maybe I’ll get into wedding planning!”

“Still on about that?” Tim smiled a little.

He’d survived Jack yet again, with Gaige by his side. And she was right; they could figure it out later. For now, he let darkness claim him, falling into a dreamless sleep for the first time in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be wrapping this story up hopefully this week or next week. It got a lot darker than I ever meant for it to, and I think I just stopped having fun writing it ;-; But I found an old Tim fic I'd been working on a while back, and it's much lighter so I might try picking that one up again and have something new to post, if anyone would want to read more Tim!


	24. Chapter 24

When Tim woke next, he groaned.

“I’m so goddamn freaking sick of this place,” he said as he took in the sight of the medical room on Sanctuary.

“Then stop trying to detach your arm from your body,” Tannis said without looking up from whatever bizarre experiment she was evidently carrying out. “You’re going to have quite the hideous permanent scar.”

Tim looked down at himself. He was topless, his shoulder once again carefully bandaged. His hand and ankle were both in casts, and he was assuming he’d gone too long without health kits for them to be effective by the time they got him back to Sanctuary.

“How long have I been out?” he asked.

“A few days,” she said. She waved away his questions as he opened his mouth again. “Gaige will be along shortly. Bother her instead.”

Tim noticed his watch on the table next to the bed he was in. He picked it up, and ran his fingers over the interface. Nothing burst forward from it. He squeezed his eyes shut, holding it tightly.

All that time in Jack’s employ, they had been the ones to keep him company. To protect him when no one else would. They had become his closest friends.

And now they were gone.

All because of Tim.

“Tim?”

He opened his eyes as Gaige and Zane came to sit beside him. Zane was limping pretty badly, but he was able to keep himself upright, so Tim supposed he was alright.

“What happened while I was out?” Tim asked.

“Tannis decided to keep you under for a few days,” Gaige said. “The health kits weren’t enough to fix you up because of how bad you were. We didn’t want to give you too much, so we agreed to let you heal up on your own with small health kit treatments.”

He shook his head. “Not that. Helios. Jack. All of it.”

“Apparently, Axton’s cry for help to Sanctuary was ‘An AI Jack took over Helios, kidnapped Tim, and injured Zane, send help immediately’,” Gaige said, rolling her eyes. “We caught Lilith and the others up to speed on everything once we got back. They cleared out Helios as best they could Tannis went back to verify that all traces of the AI Jack are gone.” She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “He is gone, Tim. We’re positive.”

“And Athena? Is she going to kill me for this?” Tim asked. It would be just his luck to survive an encounter with Jack only for Athena to bash his head in with her shield.

“We talked to her,” Gaige said. “She told me to tell you that you’re the biggest idiot she’s ever met, but she’s glad it’s over and you’re…well, not in one piece, but breathing.”

“What’re you gonna do now?” Zane asked.

Tim shrugged, winced at the pain in his shoulder, and slumped back against the pillows. “No freaking clue.”

He had no where to go, nothing to do. He had no job, no home. He’d tried to get himself something close to normal over the past seven years, but the COV wrecked that when they came after him. He…He didn’t know what came next.

The doors to medical slid open and he looked up. Surprise and unease hit him as Moxxi came towards him with a bottle in her hand.

“Moxxi,” he said cautiously.

“I heard you wiped the final traces of that bastard from Pandora,” she said, setting the bottle down on the bedside table. “A gift as my thanks, sugar.”

Tim stared at her. “A gift? Moxxi, I was shit to you.”

“Then be better,” she said.

As if it was that simple. And maybe it could be.

“I’m, uh, sorry for being shitty to you. Honestly, I don’t know how I ever judged you for trying to off all of us back then. Should’ve done it myself and saved us all a lot of trouble,” he said with a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I guess I owe a lot of apologies to a lot of people.”

Moxxi nudged the bottle closer. “A little liquid confidence, then.”

“Yea, thanks,” Tim said, feeling a furious blush coming to his face as he realized he was topless. “I think I’ll just, uh, chug that whole bottle immediately.”

Moxxi winked at him before leaving medical. Tim sighed but didn’t reach for the bottle. The last thing he needed after just waking up was to get blasted.

Tim looked down at the watch in his hand. “They asked me to destroy them if he got them. We knew it was a risk when we were facing the AI. They…They didn’t want to let him hurt me again. They were willing to be destroyed to protect me.”

Maybe he’d take that drink after all.

“I can get you a new one,” Zane said, patting his own digiclone device. “It won’t be them, but it’ll be something. If you want it.”

“I don’t want it if it’s not them,” Tim said.

“Oh, stop being overdramatic,” Tannis said, snatching the watch from Tim’s hand.

Tim felt anger strike through him. “You don’t understand. When I was in Jack’s hands, they were all I had. They were AIs, sure, but they were my friends.”

Tim saw the glow through Tanni’s sleeve. The watch lit up for a moment before dimming back down. Tannis tossed it into his lap.

“In exchange for that, you will keep my abilities strictly to yourself,” she said sternly.

Tim barely heard her. He lifted the watch with a trembling hand. There was a dangerous spark of hope in his chest.

Could Tannis really bring them back? What if he swiped the watch and they were still gone?

Tim placed a trembling finger on the interface, and swiped.

Red and blue light burst forth from the watch. When it took shape, the watch dropped from Tim’s hand and he covered his eyes with a weak cry of relief.

“Tim!” Blue and Jay cried.

It was them. It was really them.

“Our original code is back,” Blue said, examining his form. “How…?”

“Jack obliterated it. We…There should’ve been no way to get us back,” Jay said.

Gaige was positively beaming, tightening her grip on Tim’s shoulder. “C’mon guys, you know we can’t have Timothy wandering around unsupervised. You’re needed here.”

Blue made a face at the sight of Tim. “Christ, Tim, can you go five minutes without a horrendous injury?”

“Are you okay? What happened to…to Jack?” Jay asked, crouching by Tim’s bedside.

“Gone,” Gaige said, and she and Zane ran them through what had happened while Tim tried to compose himself.

“I almost lost you guys,” Tim said weakly. “I’m so sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry.”

And at that moment, everything became too much. He threw his arm over his eyes as he felt the tears rush forward, his chest heaving for breaths.

His years as Jack’s right hand man, his time trying to recover from it all, the COV attack that nearly killed him, murdering Aurelia, seeing Jack again, losing his friends, and then destroying the last remnants of Jack. Tim felt like he’d never be whole again.

But hands pressed against his back, firm and reassuring. Gaige, Zane, Blue, and Jay huddled around him protectively, supportively.

Jack’s protection left Tim terrified. Their protection left him feeling warm and safe.

“Come on, no need for crying,” Zane said, thumping him on the back lightly. “What’s there to be sobbin’ about when you’ve got a perfectly good bottle of alcohol right there?”

Despite his teasing, they gave Tim time to pull himself back together. He felt too exhausted to even be embarrassed about his tears as he finally straightened up and dropped his arm.

“Better?” Gaige asked.

“Only if you don’t hold it over me for the rest of my life,” he said, and realized for the first time that he had a whole life ahead of him. No Jack hanging over him.

Zane seemed to pick up on his thoughts. “Got some settling to do, Timmy. And don’t worry about the COV; we’ll kill ‘em off soon enough.”

“While you were out, I made some plans. I’m going ahead with my wedding planner career!” Gaige said. “But that means I need to travel around to find good venues. I could use a friend so I don’t get bored.”

“It always ends up with us fighting monsters,” Tim said miserably.

“Yep,” Gaige said, grinning at him. “Can’t have you getting out of shape. A few fights will be good for you. We need to get your shoulder back up to speed.”

“If you so much as put your shirt on wrong, I will promptly put a bullet between your eyes and dissect you to find out what in that stupid head of yours makes you so injury prone,” Tannis said.

“Comforting,” Tim said. “But trust me, I have no plans of getting hurt anytime soon. I feel like someone dropped a building on me.”

“You’re injury prone, but you’re a goddamn miracle. I can’t believe you’re still alive,” Zane said.

“Coming from you grandpa. Thought that fall would’ve done you in,” Tim said.

“Ah, that was nothing!” Zane said, waving his hand dismissively. “I needed a little challenge after shooting my way through the cannon fodder the COV toss our way. It was a good workout.”

“Yea, a workout,” Tim grunted, rubbing lightly at his busted shoulder.

“Hey, Tim…will you be okay?” Gaige asked. “Not physically, of course. You fucking suck at taking care of yourself. But just…will you?”

“I don’t know,” Tim said honestly. “This whole thing dragged up a lot of memories. And it started to twist me back into him.” He sighed and stared up at the ceiling. “That prick couldn’t even let me have some peace when he was freaking dead. Worst boss ever.” He closed his eyes. “I…I feel bad for him. He looked so scared before I broke the eye.”

“It had to be done,” Zane said.

“Tim, we won’t judge you for feeling bad about it,” Jay said. “He was all you had for years. It’ll take time to recover from that kind of manipulative isolation.”

“Sooner rather than later would be great, but I guess all I can do is keep going,” Tim said. “So, wedding planning?”

Gaige perked up. “Yea! I’ve got a few locations in mind I want to scout and…”

She carried on, and Tim was relieved for the change of topic. Zane leaned back comfortably, propping his injured leg up on Tim’s bed as he listened. He seemed at ease.

Tim got himself comfortable, settled in to listen to Gaige talk about a future she wanted to share with him. His friends had come out of this alive, all of them. And he had come out of it alive.

He’d make it. It wouldn’t be easy, but he’d make it.

***

“Shit, move!” Tim said, shoving Gaige aside and shooting the beast that had been lunging for her. “This sucks already. You’re the freaking worst, Gaige.”

“Shut up and shoot,” Gaige said, blasting another creature away from her with her shotgun.

“Is it cold, Tim? It looks like it’s cold,” Blue said as he fired on their opponents.

“It’s freezing, I’m miserable, and Gaige is buying me a drink the second we find The Lodge,” Tim said.

“Tim? Gaige?”

The duo looked up as Zane, Amara, Fl4k, and Moze jogged over to them, firing on the creatures. Zane grinned at them and shot a few beasts to get next to them.

“Great, as if this day wasn’t bad enough,” Tim said with a sigh.

But the trio fought well together. Zane threw down a barrier for them, Tim and his digi-Jacks rounded up the enemies, and Gaige and Zane blasted them before they could breach the barrier.

When the creatures all laid dead, Zane threw his arms around their shoulders. “Long time no see!”

“What better way to bring people together than a wedding?” Gaige said.

“If we even make it to the wedding,” Tim said.

“Still a downer than, Timmy?” Zane said.

“Something like that,” Tim said. “Gaige?”

“It’s that way,” Gaige said, pointing. “I think.”

“Fucking Xylourgos,” Tim grumbled.

“Hammerlock didn’t mention you were the wedding planner,” Zane said.

“Well, I am!” Gaige said, grinning. “Tim’s just accompanying me. Come on, let’s head for the lift to The Lodge.”

“How’ve things been?” Zane asked them as they walked, the other vault hunters falling in behind them.

“Busy,” Tim said.

After spending time recovering in Sanctuary, he and Gaige left once he could walk again. They’d taken it easy while his other injuries healed up, and found themselves traveling all over.

It had been good for both of them. Tim had time to cope with the AI Jack situation, but constantly being on the move kept him from spiraling into a dark hole about the whole thing. And shooting down creatures was always a good way to work through frustration, and their traveling gave him plenty of opportunity for that kind of relief.

The downside was that they’d lost touch with nearly everyone. Gaige and Axton met up from time to time, and Tim had made time to visit Athena and Janey so he could apologize. But Zane and the others had been so busy dealing with the COV, they hadn’t found time to talk.

“We went to Athenas,” Gaige told Zane. “It was really beautiful. The people there loved Maya.”

Gaige had broken the news of Maya’s death to Tim after they left Sanctuary. Tim had no particular attachment to Maya, but he’d ached for Gaige’s loss. They fought their sorrows together.

“It wasn’t so nice when enemies were swarming the place, but I’m sure it’s quite lovely when everyone isn’t trying to kill you,” Zane said.

They chatted as they walked, trying to catch each other up on everything. Tim and Gaige had heard about the vault hunters defeating the twins, and it sounded like they’d been busy even after that.

“Oh, shit,” Gaige said as they reached the lift. “Nothing is ever just easy, is it?”

“I take it we’re in for an adventure?” Tim said.

“You up for it, old man?” Gaige asked Zane. “We’ve got to get this lift working.”

Zane grinned, his gun already in hand. “Well, let’s get a move on. We’ve got creatures to kill.”

“Someday, I’ll get a break,” Tim said, but his sniper rifle was already in his hands. “Alright, senior citizens first. I’ll hang back and clear the way for you guys.”

“Shoulder can handle it?” Zane asked.

Tim gestured to his face. “My scars don’t stop me from being a good shot. Get going so I can get to the bar and have that drink.”

“That’s our Timothy Lawrence, always valiant,” Gaige said, clapping him on the shoulder before moving with the others.

“Timothy Lawrence, is it?” Zane said.

“Still getting there,” Tim said, but he smiled the slightest. “Sometimes the Jack DNA kicks in and I tell people I’m going to strangle their mothers. But I’m not him.”

His voice was firm on the words. Zane clapped his other shoulder and followed Gaige and his friends.

A creature sprang at them, but a shot rang out and the beast fell dead. Zane glanced over his shoulder to see Tim lining up his next shot, the smile on his face having grown as he protected his friends.

Tim saw him looking and flashed him a thumbs-up before waving at him to get fighting. Zane turned away and caught Gaige smiling at them both.

Tim still had a long way to go, but he’d make it.

“Come on! I’ve got a wedding to see through, and Tim’s going to badger me for that drink until he gets it,” Gaige said, grabbing Zane’s arm and tugging him into the fray of growing battle.

Tim joined them shortly, pistol in hands. The three hunched up, back to back, covering each other as they shot. All of them were giddy with the fight and the reunion.

“Something tells me this is going to be a pain in the ass of a wedding,” Tim said.

“Nothing ever goes smoothly for us,” Zane agreed. “Excitement, here we come!”

“Gaige, Zane, and Timothy, reporting for murder!” Gaige said.

Tim couldn’t help but laugh. Maybe he hadn’t quite found his way in the world, but he knew he belonged here, with these people, as the man he’d fought to become.

He still had a lot of growing to do. But for now, he was surrounded by friends, and he had a job to do so he could get his damn drink.

Gaige laughed next to him, her green eyes bright. Tim smiled widely. He was glad as hell he’d survived everything to make it here and hear her laughter.

For the first time in a long time, Timothy Lawrence was glad as hell to be alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I fizzled out at the end with this one! I've got another Tim fic in the works that I'm going to keep from getting as dark as this one. Thank you so much to everyone who read this, and to the incredibly kind comments I received on it; it means the world to me!


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